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OCT  4  1917 


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Srctton   •^3)'^ 


COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS 
AND  HEBREWS 


{       OCT  ^  IS 


Am  Kwterprftotton  of  %  tngltoli  Sibl*  '-^'■'' 


Colossians,  Ephesians 
and  Hebrews 


BY 

B.  H.  CARROLL,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

President  of  Southwestern  Baptist 
Theological  Seminary 


EDITED  BY 

J.  B.  CRANFILL,  LL.D. 


New  York        Chicago        Toronto 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

London  and  Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1917,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  125  N.  Wabash  Avenue 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  St.,  W. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:    100  Princess   Street 


CHAPTER 

I. 

11. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VIL 

VIII. 

IX. 
X. 

XL 

XII. 
XIII. 
XIV. 

XV. 
XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Editor's  Introduction  v 

Historical  Introduction  to  Colossians  . .  i 
Analysis,     Paul's     Thankfulness     and 

Christ's  Person 1 1 

Christ's  Relation  to  the  Church 21 

Christ's  Relation  to  the  Father  and  the 

Universe    34 

Human    Philosophy   vs.   the   Enduring 

Gospel  of  Christ 47 

Practical  Applications  of  Colossians  ...  58 

Historical  Introduction  to  Ephesians.  .  (>"] 
Election,      Fore-ordination,      Adoption, 

Grace    76 

Christ's  Atonement  and  Paul's  Prayer.  .  88 

Christ  the  Head  of  the  Church loi 

The  Wall  of  Partition 114 

Paul's  Second  Great  Prayer 126 

The  Great  Unities 141 

The  Necessity  of  Regeneration 153 

The  Church  in  Glory 164 

Author's  Introduction  to  Hebrews,  Part 

I    177 

Author's  Introduction  to  Hebrews,  Part 

II    190 

Analysis   of  Hebrews   and   Our  Lord's 

Sonships    208 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIX.     Christ's  Superiority  over  Angels  Good 

AND   Bad    221 

XX.     Christ  Greater  than  Moses  and  Joshua  233 

XXI.     Christ  Greater  than  Aaron 243 

XXII.     The  Better  Promises  of  the  New  Cove- 
nant     251 

XXIII.  The  Promises  of  the  Surety  and  of  the 

Sacrifice   261 

XXIV.  Promises  of  the  New  Covenant 273 

XXV.     The  Heroes  of  Faith 282 

XXVI.     The  Heroes  of  Faith  (continued) '. .  290 

XXVII.     The  Outcome  of  the  Christian's  Life.  . .  302 

XXVIIL     The  Better  Festivals 313 

XXIX.     Exhortations  and  Special  Passages 321 

XXX.     Exhortations     and     Special     Passages 

(continued)    328 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

This  volume  completes  Carroll's  "Interpretation  of  the  , 
English  Bible."  The  publication  of  other  volumes,  in  the 
order  of  their  appearance,  has  been  as  follows:  "Revela- 
tion," "Genesis,"  "Exodus-Leviticus,"  "Numbers  to  Ruth," 
"Daniel  and  the  Inter-BibHcal  Period,"  "The  Four  Gos- 
pels," Volume  I,  "The  Four  Gospels,"  Volume  II,  "The 
Pastoral  Epistles,"  "The  Acts,"  "James,  Thessalonians, 
Corinthians,"  "The  Hebrew  Monarchy,"  "Galatians, 
Romans,  Philippians  and  Philemon." 

The  sense  of  joy  and  gratitude  I  feel  in  the  completion 
of  this  task  is  beyond  all  words.  It  was  begun  more  than 
three  years  ago  during  the  lifetime  of  the  great  author  him- 
self. Space  forbids  the  presentation  here  of  the  details 
leading  up  to  this  undertaking.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  on 
October  30,  1913,  I  entered  into  a  contract  with  Dr.  B.  H. 
Carroll  for  the  publication  of  these  books.  At  that  time 
his  health  was  failing  and  he  was  aware  that  he  was  near- 
ing  the  end  of  his  days.  In  the  interview  in  which  the  con- 
tract for  the  publication  of  this  "Interpretation"  was  made, 
Dr.  Carroll  expressed  the  wish  that  I  should  secure  the 
assistance  in  this  task  of  Rev.  J.  W.  Crowder,  then  assistant 
to  Dr.  Carroll  in  the  department  of  the  English  Bible  in 
the  Southwestern  Baptist  Theological  Seminary,  and  who 
has  since  been  elected  to  the  full  professorship  to  succeed 
his  great  predecessor.  Not  only  did  Dr.  Carroll  express 
this  wish  while  living,  but  he  did  more — he  inserted  in  his 
will  (in  which  his  manuscripts  were  all  devised  to  his  wife 
and  to  me),  a  provision  that  Professor  Crowder  should 
revise  all  of  these  manuscripts  before  they  were  placed  in 
my  hands  for  final  editing  and  for  publication. 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

The  service  of  Professor  Crowder  in  the  preservation, 
preparation  and  presentation  of  this  "Interpretation"  has 
been  indispensable.  For  half  a  score  of  years  he  sat  at  the 
feet  of  the  great  teacher,  and  in  this  way  became  intimately 
familiar  with  Dr.  Carroll's  work.  It  is  very  gratifying 
that  I  have  been  blessed  with  the  able  assistance  of  this 
friend,  student,  and  worthy  successor  to  Dr.  Carroll.  I 
have  been  greatly  rejoiced  that  Professor  Crowder  has  so 
happily  and  satisfactorily  maintained  the  department  of 
English  Bible  in  our  great  Seminary,  and  that  he  now  has 
the  largest  class  in  the  English  Bible,  in  which  this  "Inter- 
pretation" is  the  text  book,  that  he  has  yet  had.  He  is  as 
true  to  God's  Word  and  the  Baptist  faith  as  was  Dr.  Car- 
roll himself,  and  his  work  in  the  Seminary  is  in  every  way 
invaluable  to  that  great  institution.  While  I  deeply  appre- 
ciate every  department  of  the  Seminary,  none  outranks  in 
importance  the  department  of  English  Bible,  and  Professor 
Crowder  is  demonstrating  day  by  day  the  wisdom  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  in  their  unanimous  call  to  him  to  succeed 
Dr.  Carroll. 

And  now  the  work  to  which  through  eventful  years  I 
have  turned  my  own  time,  talents,  means,  and  energies,  has 
reached  its  consummation.  Profoundly  do  I  believe  that 
God  has  ruled  and  reigned  in  it  all,  and  as  this  final  volume 
of  the  series  is  sent  out  to  the  world,  my  heart  sings  with 
inexpressible  joy.  More  than  once  have  I  said,  and  I  repeat 
it  here,  that  this  is  the  greatest  single  achievement  of  all  my 
life,  and  I  doubt  not  that  this  can  be  said  when  I  have  left 
the  walks  of  men  and  have  gone  to  join  the  innumerable 
throng  of  God's  redeemed  on  high,  where  the  beloved  author 
of  these  volumes  now  abides  with  that  loving  Savior  whom 
he  so  deeply  loved,  and  to  whose  service  he  dedicated  his 
great,  strong,  eventful  and  triumphant  life. 

Dallas,  Texas.  J.  B.  Cranfill. 


THE  BOOK  OF  COLOSSIANS 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

(Note:  For  helps  commended  on  the  Letters  of  the  Roman 
Imprisonment  see  Introduction  to  Philippians.) 

IT  is  necessary  at  the  beginning  to  get  the  geography  of 
this  history  clear  in  mind — to  trace  out  on  the  map  in 
the  "Bible  Atlas"  the  places  mentioned.  Indirectly, 
where  not  directly,  all  the  churches  established  in  this  region 
were  Pauline  churches.  Colosse  is  only  sixteen  miles  from 
Hierapolis  and  only  six  miles  from  Laodicea — all  right  there 
together,  all  on  the  Lycus,  a  tributary  of  the  Meander. 

The  man  who  planted  these  three  churches — who  directly 
established  them — was  Epaphras,  an  evangelist,  who  lived 
at  Colosse.  He  established  the  churches,  but  Archippus, 
the  son  of  Philemon,  was  the  pastor  at  Colosse — a  rather 
slow-going  pastor.  He  needed  to  be  stirred  up  right  sharply, 
and  Paul  takes  occasion  in  two  of  his  letters  to  stir  him. 
These  people  ethnologically  were  Phrygians,  but  politically 
they  belonged  to  the  Roman  province  of  Asia. 

The  occasion  of  the  Letter  to  the  Colossians  was  the  visit 
of  Epaphras  to  Paul  in  Rome,  giving  him  an  account  of  the 
state  of  affairs  in  the  Lycus  valley.  The  conditions  were 
much  sharper  at  Colosse  than  elsewhere,  but  the  same  errors 
prevailed  in  all  three  churches,  and  the  form  of  error  pre- 
vailed somewhat  in  the  whole  province.  Hence,  while  he 
wrote  a  special  letter  to  Colosse,  he  used  the  main  thoughts 
of  the  letter  and  elaborated  them  into  a  circular  letter.  The 
Letter  to  the  Ephesians  was  certainly  not  addressed  pri- 

1 


a         COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

marily  to  Ephesus.  A  great  many  copies  were  made  and 
these  copies  were  distributed  among  the  churches  of  Asia. 
The  letter  that  went  to  Ephesus  was  one  of  the  copies  pre- 
served. A  great  many  copies  were  not  addressed  to  any 
particular  place,  but  left  blank.  There  is  a  reference  in 
Colossians  to  a  letter  which  they  would  receive  from  Laod- 
icea,  which  doubtless  is  the  circular  letter  which  we  call  the 
Letter  to  the  Ephesians.  As  the  Letter  to  the  Romans  elabo- 
rates the  line  of  thought  presented  in  Galatians,  making  it 
an  abstract  discussion,  so  Ephesians  elaborates  the  line  of 
thought  in  the  Letter  to  the  Colossians,  making  it  an  abstract 
discussion.  Both  Ephesians  and  Colossians,  on  the  face  of 
them,  show  that  Paul  did  not  personally  visit  these  places, 
but  doubtless  saw  some  of  the  people  at  the  time  he  was  in 
Ephesus  holding  that  big  meeting  which  lasted  two  years 
or  more. 

The  report  that  Epaphras  brought  disclosed  a  prevalent 
and  dangerous  form  of  error  sapping  the  Christian  faith. 
Before  discussing  what  that  error  was,  I  call  attention  to 
some  commentaries.  The  most  scholarly  of  all,  for  both 
Greek  and  English  students,  is  Lightfoot.  There  is  also  a  very 
fine  expository  commentary  by  Alexander  MacLaren,  but 
having  read  both,  I  greatly  prefer,  for  English  students, 
Dr.  Dargan's  commentary,  in  "The  American  Commentary," 
published  by  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society. 
Dr.  Dargan,  late  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Theological  Semi- 
nary, though  he  wrote  it  when  comparatively  a  young  man, 
gives  us  a  perfect  gem,  and  it  is  sound  in  the  faith.  His 
introductory  chapter  is  even  clearer  in  its  statement  of  the 
case  than  Canon  Farrar  gives  in  his  "Life  and  Epistles  of 
Paul,"  and  even  better  than  Conybeare  and  Howson. 

It  has  generally  been  held  that  the  error  which  was  sapping 
the  faith  of  these  churches  in  the  Lycus  valley  was  Gnosti- 
cism. Gnosticism  is  derived  from  the  Greek  word  gnosis, 
which  means  knowledge,  like  "agnosticism,"  which  means 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  S 

ignorance — not  knowing.  The  knowledge  to  which  they  pre- 
tended was  a  mystical  knowledge  above  that  which  was 
written,  and  it  took  the  place  of  the  written  word.  We  get 
some  conception  of  Gnosticism  from  mystical  dreamers. 
We  occasionally  nieet  them  in  the  present  time.  They  are 
very  confident  of  everything,  saying,  "I  know,  I  know,  I 
know."  "How  do  you  know?"  "Well,  I  just  feel  that  it 
is  so."  "Can  you  prove  it  from  the  Bible?"  "The  Spirit 
moves  men  now  as  well  as  He  did  in  Bible  days."  So  he 
goes  on  Spirit  knowledge,  as  he  calls  it,  and  places  what  he 
says  above  what  is  written. 

Another  form  was  this :  They  would  say,  "The  letter  is 
nothing;  the  Spirit  is  everything.  You  must  not  interpret 
the  Bible  literally.  For  instance,  when  you  read  about  Adam 
and  Eve,  it  must  be  interpreted  as  an  allegory,  and  the  book 
of  Jonah  is  an  allegory."  Mystics  have  always  been  dream- 
ers. They  are  opposed  to  all  forms  of  organization.  If  we 
ask  one,  "Do  you  belong  to  the  church?"  he  will  answer, 
"I  belong  to  the  universal,  the  invisible  church.  Your  little, 
local  concern  is  nothing  to  me.  I  belong  to  the  big  church." 
Personally,  I  never  did  have  much  use  for  these  vague,  loose 
people.  I  believe  that  all  real  faith  is  susceptible  of  a  clear 
statement,  and  that  any  doctrine  which  cannot  be  clearly 
derived  from  the  plain  passages  in  the  Word  of  God  is  to  be 
rejected. 

/  believe  that  the  Word  of  God  is  more  reliable  than  any 
mystic  philosophy,  and  if  a  modern  mystic  wants  me  to 
accept  his  vagaries,  let  him  give  the  signs  of  an  apostle. 
Let  him  by  miracle  accredit  his  inspiration.  Let  him  raise 
the  dead  and  perform  other  miracles,  and  then  I  will  be 
ready  to  accept  what  he  says,  provided  it  harmonizes  zvith 
God's  written  Word. 

Gnosticism  did  not  come  in  its  full  development  and  full 
fruitage  until  about  a.d.  150,  much  after  this  time.  Then 
for  about  100  years  it  swayed  a  large  part  of  the  Orient. 


4j         COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

It  was  rampant  before  John  died.  We  have  an  example  in 
Cerinthus.  John  had  such  a  horror  of  him,  it  is  said,  that 
when  he  went  to  a  pubhc  bath-house  and  found  Cerinthus 
there,  he  would  say,  "Let  us  get  away  from  here,  lest  that 
building  fall  on  us  for  keeping  such  company." 

What  did  that  mystical  philosophy  teach?  What  did  it 
pretend  to  account  for?  First,  the  creation  of  the  world, 
or  how  things  came  to  be.  Their  position  as  to  God  was 
agnosticism,  just  as  the  later  position  of  Huxley,  Herbert 
Spencer,  and  John  Stuart  Mill,  namely,  God  is  unknowable. 
These  mystics  further  taught  that  it  is  impossible  for  a  finite 
being  to  come  in  touch  with  God — that  only  through  several 
grades  of  eons,  or  emanations,  could  men  learn  from  God. 
These  grades  of  hierarchy  in  angelic  beings  by  shading  down 
lower  and  lower  might  finally  get  low  enough  to  touch 
man.  Through  these  grades,  or  classes  of  angels  they  held 
that  the  world  was  created ;  that  God  did  not  create  it ;  that 
Jesus  was  one  of  these  eons,  or  intermediate  angels ;  that 
the  eon  took  possession  of  Him  at  His  baptism — of  Jesus 
the  mere  man,  born  of  Joseph  and  Mary — and  when  He 
was  crucified  the  eon  left  Him ;  that  He  had  no  real  divinity, 
and  that  there  were  a  number  of  eons  higher  than  He. 

The  second  thing  they  tried  to  account  for  was  the  origin 
of  evil.  They  held  to  what  in  theology  is  called  dualism — 
that  there  are  two  principles  in  the  world,  a  good  principle 
and  an  evil  principle.  Doubtless  they  got  that  from  the 
Persians.  They  said  that  evil  rested  in  matter ;  that  matter 
was  evil  and  spirit  good,  and  therefore  they  had  what  is  called 
ascetic  doctrines,  the  denial  of  appetite,  just  as  far  as  one 
could  and  hold  soul  and  body  together;  for  instance,  they 
would  take  a  drink  of  water  and  a  crust  of  bread,  have  just 
one  simple  garment  of  clothing,  would  not  marry,  lived  in 
caves,  and  withdrew  from  the  world  just  as  much  as  pos- 
sible. That  was  the  ascetic  part  of  it,  and  by  doing  this,  as 
the  body  was  matter,  they  triumphed  over  sin.     Roman 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  5 

Catholics  incorporate  a  great  part  of  this  in  their  belief. 
Abstinences,  fastings,  refusal  to  eat  certain  things,  penance, 
scourging,  etc.,  are  examples. 

Paul  takes  occasion  to  tell  when  here  that  this  is  not  at  all 
valuable  in  overcoming  passions;  that  they  have  no  good 
effect  in  that  direction.  Many  a  monk  has  found  that  out. 
Though  he  retire  from  the  world  and  devote  the  time  to 
scourgings  and  fastings,  there  on  the  hard  rocks  temptation 
would  bind  him — temptation  to  sin  in  the  vilest  forms,  just 
as  they  come  to  men  out  in  the  world.  The  Bible  idea  of 
sin  is  that  it  originated  in  the  spirit  and  not  in  the  body; 
the  body  is  simply  the  instrument.  "All  sin,"  says  the  apostle 
in  another  place,  "is  without  the  body,  but  the  sin  of  forni- 
cation is  against  the  body."  These  were  their  dual  ideas — 
spirit  and  matter,  both  eternal — matter  evil  and  spirit  good, 
and  that  there  must  be  a  conquest  over  matter.  They  directly 
controverted  the  Bible  doctrine  of  sin.  When  they  took 
the  position  that  the  world  was  created  by  eons  and  when 
they  assigned  Christ  a  low  place  among  the  eons,  they  denied 
His  divinity.  A  large  part  of  this  teaching  comes  nearer 
the  doctrine  of  the  Essenes  than  of  the  Pharisees.  In  the 
time  of  Christ  there  were  three  sects  of  Jev/s — Pharisees, 
Sadducees,  and  Essenes.  The  Essenes  had  their  headquar- 
ters at  Engedi,  near  the  shore  of  the  Dead  Sea.  They  were 
communists,  had  everything  in  common,  were  opposed  to 
marriage,  etc. 

So  we  find  here  that  this  error  was  more  likely  to  have 
come  from  the  Essenes  part  of  Judaism  than  from  the  Phari- 
sees. They  had  their  proscriptions  touching  everything  to 
eat,  drink  and  wear.  Hence  the  apostle  says,  "Let  no  man 
take  you  to  task  about  what  you  eat  and  drink."  The  part 
of  their  doctrine  most  Pharisaic  was  the  strict  observance 
of  the  Sabbatic  cycle,  that  is,  weekly  Sabbaths,  monthly 
Sabbaths,  and  annual  Sabbaths.  So  that  this  Colossian  heresy 
was  partly  Jewish  and  partly  heathen,  and  altogether  un- 


6         COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

christian.  Epaphras  felt  that  it  created  a  situation  which 
he  could  not  master.  So  he  came  to  Rome  to  lay  the  case 
before  Paul.  He  had  planted  these  churches,  they  were  very 
dear  to  him,  and  he  wanted  to  refer  the  matter  to  an  apostle 
upon  whom  inspiration  rested  for  the  correction  of  all 
these  evils.    That  is  the  occasion  of  the  letter. 

Before  going  into  the  exposition  we  need  to  look  somewhat 
at  the  history  of  these  places.  Colosse  was  one  of  the  stop- 
ping places  of  Xerxes,  king  of  Persia,  when  on  his  way  to 
invade  Greece.  At  Hierapolis  was  born  a  contemporary  of 
Paul,  the  philosopher  Epictetus,  one  of  the  most  famous  of 
the  stoic  philosophers.  Cicero,  when  proconsul  of  Asia, 
stopped  here  at  Colosse,  and  for  a  part  of  the  time  his  head- 
quarters were  Hierapolis.  Hierapolis  and  Laodicea  were 
both  great  cities.  Colosse  never  did  become  a  great  city, 
and  it  was  more  conservative  than  the  others,  clinging  to 
the  old  Greek  customs,  while  the  others  went  over  to  the 
Romans  when  Rome  conquered  that  territory,  hence  they 
prospered  more. 

A  long  time  after  Paul  and  John  were  dead,  in  the  4th 
century,  a  council  was  held  at  Laodicea  and,  strange  to  say, 
when  this  council  was  held  the  matters  disposed  of  were 
the  very  errors  that  Paul  is  refuting  here  in  this  Letter  to 
the  Colossians.  That  shows  how  tenacious  of  life  heresy 
may  be,  since  at  least  250  years  afterward  it  lingered  in  the 
Lycus  valley.  In  the  book  of  Revelation  we  find  that  to  be 
the  ruling  spirit  at  Laodicea  in  the  last  days  of  John. 

The  value  of  the  Letter  to  the  Colossians  is  almost  un- 
speakable. We  now  study  one  after  another,  three  marvelous 
books — Colossians,  Ephesians  and  Hebrews.  In  Colossians 
the  person  and  the  work  of  Christ,  in  Ephesians  the  church, 
which  is  the  glory  of  Christ,  in  the  Letter  to  the  Hebrews  the 
superiority  of  the  new  covenant  over  the  old  covenant,  or 
the  sacrifice  and  priesthood  of  Christ.  We  have  a  perfect 
feast  before  us  in  the  study  of  these  great  doctrinal  letters 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  7 

on  the  person  of  Christ,  His  original  divinity,  His  creative 
power.  His  redemptive  power,  His  relation  to  the  church  and 
to  the  universe.  We  find  nowhere  in  the  Bible  so  perfect  and 
complete  a  statement  as  appears  in  this  Letter  to  the 
Colossians. 

In  the  study  of  the  harmony  of  the  gospels,  when  we  get 
to  that  part  where  John  commences,  "In  the  beginning  was 
the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was 
God ;  by  Him  all  things  were  created  that  were  created,"  I 
put  in  Paul's  gospel  by  the  side  of  that,  and  always  incor- 
porate right  there  this  great  passage  from  Colossians,  the 
great  passage  from  Philippians,  and  certain  similar  passages 
from  Hebrews.  Indeed,  Hebrews  supplements  and  interprets 
Colossians.  Every  preacher  should  have  clear  ideas  of  the 
person  of  Christ  in  His  relation  both  to  the  universe  and  to 
the  church  as  we  have  them  in  these  letters. 

There  is  a  textual  difficulty  in  this  letter.  See  2 :  20  and 
note  the  difference  in  the  parenthetical  clause  between  the 
King  James  and  the  revised  versions. 

1.  Does  taking  the  "touch  not,  taste  not,  handle  not"  from 
the  parenthesis  materially  alter  the  sense? 

2.  Are  the  precepts,  "touch  not,  taste  not,  handle  not," 
Paul's  precepts,  or  is  he  here  condemning  them? 

3.  Have  they  any  bearing  on  the  modern  prohibition  of 
the  liquor  habit  and  traffic,  as  sometimes  applied  by  Prohi- 
bitionists ? 

An  old  deacon  once  in  my  hearing  quoted  this  passage, 
"Touch  not,  taste  not,  handle  not,"  as  a  decisive  scripture 
against  both  the  liquor  traffic  and  habit.  I  told  him  he  had 
better  let  that  passage  alone,  since  if  it  were  pertinent  to  the 
subject  of  prohibition,  it  furnished  a  most  plausible  and 
forcible  argument  to  the  saloon  man.  He  would  use  it  this 
way :  "Let  no  man  take  you  to  task  about  what  you  eat  and 
drink,  which  things  perish  in  the  using.  If  you  are  a  Chris- 
tian free  from  rudimental  things,  why  are  you  subject  to 


8        COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

such  decrees  as  Touch  not,  taste  not,  handle  not  ?' "  How 
could  you  answer  him  except  by  denying  the  application  of 
the  passage  to  the  liquor  habit  and  traffic?  Your  defense 
would  consist  in  showing  the  real  application."  Paul  was 
teaching  a  salvation  of  grace  through  faith  in  Christ,  and 
opposing  a  salvation  through  ritualistic  observances  of  the 
Mosaic  Sabbath- feasts,  the  rudiments  of  Old  Testament 
typical  teaching,  or  by  trying  to  kill  sin  through  ascetic  appli- 
cations of  the  body.  The  whole  Sabbatic  cycle  was  nailed 
to  the  cross  of  Christ.  They  were  but  shadows  of  which 
He  was  the  body  or  substance.  That  old  typical  food-dis- 
tinction between  clean  and  unclean  animals  was  abrogated. 
Therefore  he  says,  "Let  no  man  take  you  to  task  about  what 
you  eat  and  drink."  "Let  no  man  therefore  judge  you  in 
meat,  or  in  drink,  or  in  respect  of  a  feast  day  [annual  Sab- 
bath] or  a  new  moon  [monthly  Sabbath]  or  a  Sabbath  day 
[seventh  day] ."  In  other  words,  "Why  do  you  subject  your- 
selves to  such  ordinances  as,  Touch  not,  taste  not,  handle 
not  ?* "  That  means  that  the  Christian  is  not  to  be  under 
subjection  to  a  ritualistic  system  which  was  a  shadow  of  the 
things  to  come,  but  to  the  body  of  Christ.  That  ritualistic 
system  said,  "You  may  eat  a  goat  but  not  a  rabbit ;  you  may 
eat  a  sheep  but  not  a  hog."  Paul  says  that  every  one  of  these 
things  was  nailed  to  the  cross ;  he  is  not  discussing  the  tem- 
perance question  of  drinking  whiskey,  but  he  is  discussing 
the  Levitical  law  and  the  superadded  traditions. 

When  a  Jew  says  that  we  should  keep  the  seventh  day  our 
reply  is:  "That  was  nailed  to  the  cross.  There  remaineth 
a  Sabbath-keeping  to  the  people  of  God  which  is  the  first  day 
of  the  week."  And  if  when  we  want  to  eat  a  squirrel  or  a 
catfish  he  says,  "Touch  not,  taste  not,  handle  not,"  our  reply 
is,  "These  distinctions  were  rudimentary  and  typical.  They 
perished  with  the  using.  Being  shadows,  they  are  fulfilled. 
So  we  understand,  then,  that  it  is  not  Paul  who  is  saying, 
Touch  not,  taste  not,  handle  not.* " 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  S| 

Let  us  close  this  discussion  in  a  few  words  of  review. 
Who  wrote  the  letter  ?  Paul.  When  ?  About  a.d.  62  or  63. 
To  whom  ?  Brethren  at  Colosse.  That  includes  the  regular 
church,  also  the  churches  in  the  private  houses.  Who  is 
associated  with  him  in  the  letter?  Timothy.  What  is  the 
occasion  of  the  letter?  The  coming  of  Epaphras  stating 
the  false  doctrines  prevalent  in  the  churches  in  the  Lycus 
valley,  particularly  the  churches  at  Colosse,  Hierapolis,  and 
Laodicea.  What  the  trouble  ?  It  was  a  blended  error  partly 
heathen  and  partly  Jewish,  and  altogether  unchristian.  In 
its  asceticism  it^embodies  the  doctrines  of  the  Essenes ;  in  its 
ritualism,  the  doctrine  of  the  Pharisees;  in  its  dualism 
the  Persian  doctrine  of  spirit  and  matter.  As  a  phi- 
losophy it  proposed  to  answer  two  questions:  i.  How 
the  world  or  universe  first  came  to  be.  2.  The  origin  and 
seat  of  sin,  and  the  means  of  its  conquest.  As  a  doctrine  it 
denied  the  divinity  of  Christ,  relied  upon  mystic,  esoteric 
knowledge  as  above  God's  Word,  and  taught  the  worship 
of  angels. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Locate  on  the  map  the  cities  of  the  Lycus  valley. 

2.  Who  planted  the  three  churches  in  this  valley? 

3.  What  the  occasion  of  this  letter  ? 

4.  What  its  relation  to  Ephesians  ? 

5.  What  the  purpose  of  both  of  them? 

6.  What  commentaries  commended? 

7.  What  was  the  error  widespread  in  the  Lycus  valley? 

8.  What  the  derivation  and  meaning  of  the  term? 

9.  What  another  form  of  it? 

10.  Give  examples  of  their  Biblical  interpretation. 

11.  What  is  a  notable  characteristic  of  these  people? 

12.  When  did  this  doctrine  reach  its  full  development? 

13.  Give  an  example. 

14.  What  did  this  mystical  philosophy  teach  (i)  As  to  the  origin 
of  the  world?     (2)  As  to  the  origin  of  evil  and  its  logical  results? 

15.  What  three  sects  of  Jews  in  the  time  of  our  Lord? 

16.  Which  of  these  more  nearly  approached  this  doctrine? 

17.  What  their  headquarters  and  some  of  their  characteristics? 

18.  What  part  of  their  doctrine  most  Pharisaic? 

19.  What  noted  characters  of  history  connected  with  Colosse  and 
Hierapolis,  and  how  ? 


10       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

20.  What  the  council  of  Laodicea,  and  what  doctrine  was  up  for 
settlement  ? 

21.  What  the  theme  of  Colossians,  Ephesians  and  Hebrews,  re- 
spectively? 

22.  What  passage  in  John's  gospel  parallels  Paul's  in  this  letter? 

23.  What  passages  from  Philippians  parallels  John's  ? 

24.  What  textual  difficulty  in  2:20?  Explain  its  meaning  and 
application. 

25.  In  Review  answer:  (i)  Who  wrote  this  letter?  (2)  When? 
(3)  To  whom?  (4)  Who  is  associated  with  Paul  in  this  letter? 
(5)  What  the  occasion  of  the  letter?  (6)  What  the  trouble?  (7) 
What  its  three-fold  origin?  (8)  As  a  philosophy  it  proposed  to 
answer  what  questions?     (9)  What  of  it  as  a  doctrine? 


II 


ANALYSIS,  PAUUS  THANKFULNESS  AND 
CHRIST'S  PERSON 

Scripture:  Col.  1:1-17 

WE  now  begin  to  expound  Colossians.  There  are 
new  words  in  its  vocabulary,  and  especially  com- 
pound words,  suggested  by  the  occasion,  which 
make  exposition  in  English  alone  very  difficult.  The  temp- 
tation is  strong  to  refer  to  the  Greek  text  for  nice  shades 
of  meaning.  Remembering,  however,  that  but  few  of  the 
mass  of  readers  have  studied  Greek,  our  endeavor  shall  be 
to  give  the  sense  of  obscure  passages  as  best  we  can  without 
confusing  the  mind  by  references  to  a  language  of  which  so 
many  are  ignorant.  Moreover,  in  all  matters  of  importance 
we  may  thoroughly  rely  on  getting  the  best  sense  by  compari- 
son of  the  several  English  translations. 

First  of  all  we  need  an  analysis  of  the  whole  letter,  that 
we  may  understand,  as  we  progress  in  exposition,  the  devel- 
opment of  the  argument  and  the  relation  between  its  parts. 
While  we  find  in  the  several  commentaries  analyses  more 
or  less  simple,  we  will  follow  throughout  the  author's  analy- 
sis which  is  as  follows : 

I.  Textual  Introduction,  1:1-14.  (a)  Greeting,  1:1,  2. 
(b)  Thanksgiving,  i :  3-8.    (c)  Prayer,  i :  9-14. 

II.  Doctrine  of  Christ's  Person,  i :  15-23.  (a)  In  relation 
to  the  Father,  i :  15a.  (b)  In  relation  to  the  material  uni- 
verse and  all  its  intelligences,  both  human  and  angelic, 
1 :  15b- 1 7.    (c)  In  relation  to  the  church,  i :  18-23. 

III.  Parenthetical  Explanation  of  the  Apostle's  Mission 

11 


la       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

to  the  Gentiles  and  Consequent  Concern  for  Them,  i :  24 — 
2:7. 

IV.  Polemics  against  False  Teachers  and  Teaching  at 
Colosse,  2 : 8 — 3 :  17.  (a)  As  limiting  by  a  false  philosophy 
the  sufficiency  of  Christ  and  their  completeness  in  Him, 
2:8-15.  (b)  Against  the  folly  of  this  philosophy  in  account- 
ing for  creation,  and  in  defining  sin,  and  in  the  insufficiency 
of  its  means  for  the  conquest  of  sin,  such  as,  ( i )  A  Pharisaic 
observance  of  an  obsolete  Sabbatic  ritual ;  (2)  A  self-imposed 
humility ;  (3)  The  worship  of  angels,  supposed  to  be  emana- 
tions from  God,  himself  unknowable;  (4)  A  bondage  to 
impracticable  ascetic  precepts,  based  on  the  idea  that  sin 
resided  in  matter,  which  precepts  were  but  expressions  of 
will  worship  and  powerless  to  hedge  against  temptation  or  to 
subdue  the  passions,  or  to  supply  objects  high  enough  to 
incite  to  love-motives,  2: 16-23.  (c)  Against  the  substitu- 
tion of  a  mystic  knowledge  (Gnosis)  as  a  standard  instead 
of  the  gospel,  2: 16-23.  (^)  But  the  gospel,  on  the  other 
hand,  raises  us  with  Christ  and  makes  us  sharers  of  His 
life  and  exaltation,  supplies  us  with  heavenly  objects  of 
thought  and  desire,  and  pledges  our  manifestation  in  glory 
with  Christ,  3: 1-4.  (e)  It  shows  sin  to  be  an  evil  nature 
called  "the  old  man,"  resident  in  mind,  not  matter,  and  ex- 
presses itself  in  fornication,  uncleanness,  passion,  evil  desire, 
coveteousness,  anger,  wrath,  malice,  railing,  shameful  speak- 
ing, 3:5-9.  (f)  It  provides  for  the  real  conquest  of  sin 
( I )  by  regeneration,  putting  off  the  old  man  and  putting  on 
the  new  man — a  re-creation  after  the  image  of  God — express- 
ing itself  in  a  heart  of  compassion,  kindness,  lowliness,  meek- 
ness, forbearance,  forgiveness,  love;  (2)  by  the  process  of 
sanctification  through  the  instrumentality  of  God's  Word 
and  through  spiritual  worship  in  teaching,  prayer,  and  song, 
and  (3)  by  supplying  the  dominant  motive  in  all  word,  deed, 
or  thought,  the  glory  of  our  Lord,  3:10-17.  (g)  It  unifies 
in  Christ  all  races,  nations,  and  social  castes,  3:11. 


ANALYSIS,  PAUL'S  THANKFULNESS        IS 

V.  Exhortations,  by  Way  of  Application,  3:18 — 4:6. 
(a)  To  family  relations  and  duties,  3 :  18 — 4 :  i.  (b)  To  their 
spiritual  devotions,  4:2-4.  (c)  Their  outward  walk  and 
speech,  4 :  5,  6. 

VL  Personal  Matters,  Salutations,  and  Directions,  4 : 7-17. 

VIL  Attestation  of  the  Letter  and  Benediction,  4: 18. 

This  outline  emphasizes  the  distinctions  between  doctrftie, 
polemics,  and  practice.  The  Historical  Introduction  having 
been  given  in  a  previous  chapter,  we  now  take  up  in  order  the 
divisions  of  the  text-outline. 

L  Textual  Introduction,  i :  1-14. — ^This  introduction  con- 
sists of  the  greeting,  thanksgiving,  and  prayer.  It  is  a  New 
Testament  method,  particularly  a  Pauline  method  of  com- 
mencing a  letter.  Paul,  declaring  his  apostleship  and  cour- 
teously associating  Timothy  with  himself,  addresses  the  let- 
ter, not  formally  to  the  pastor,  nor  indeed  to  the  church,  but 
"to  all  the  saints  and  faithful  brethren  in  Christ  at  Colosse." 
We  may  infer  a  reason  for  this  address  from  the  fact  that 
there  were  at  least  two  churches  at  Colosse  (see  Philemon 
1:2).  We  reserve  to  the  close  of  the  exposition  an  impor- 
tant observation  on  the  plurality  of  churches  in  one  city, 
characteristic  of  Hierapolis  also  (4:  15),  as  we  find  it  to  be 
of  Rome  (Rom.  16:  5). 

Paul  always  finds  some  reason  for  thanksgiving.  Note 
carefully  for  what  he  expresses  thanks  in  this  case :  "Having 
heard  of  your  faith  in  Christ  Jesus,  of  the  love  which  ye 
have  toward  all  the  saints,  because  of  the  hope  which  is  laid 
up  for  you  in  the  heavens."  The  proof  is  decisive  that  Paul 
himself  had  not  planted  the  churches  in  the  Lycus  valley.  He 
"hears"  and  "learns"  of  their  faith  and  love  through  his 
disciple,  Epaphras,  the  evangelist,  who  probably  planted 
these  churches  (Col.  4: 13).  Note  that  "hope"  in  verse  5  is 
used  objectively,  meaning  the  inheritance  for  which  they 
hoped.    It  is  common  with  Paul  to  use  words  objectively. 


14       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

See  an  example  in  Gal.  3 :  23,  "But  before  faith  came,"  i.e., 
before  Christ,  the  object  of  faith,  came. 

With  Paul  thankfulness  for  great  blessings  glides  into 
prayer  for  other  blessings.  Dissatisfied  ever  with  his  own 
attainments,  he  constantly  reaches  out  to  higher  things  (Phil. 
3 :  10-14)  and  so  would  incite  them  to  progress.  Note  there- 
fore the  precise  things  for  which  he  prays  in  their  behalf : 
(a)  "That  ye  may  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  His  will 
in  all  spiritual  wisdom  and  understanding;"  (b)  "Strength- 
ened will  all  power,  according  to  the  might  of  His  glory ;" 
(c)  "Giving  thanks."  So  he  prays  then  for  increase  of 
their  knowledge  and  power  and  thankfulness.  They  must 
not  be  content  to  stand  still.  His  prayer  calls  for  progress. 
But  mark  that  each  blessing  sought  is  toward  a  practical 
end  in  service  and  character. 

He  asks  for  nothing  to  be  hoarded,  nothing  for  mere  en- 
joyment. The  "increased  knowledge  of  His  will"  must,  when 
received,  lead  them  "to  walk  worthily  of  the  Lord  unto  all 
pleasing,  bearing  fruit  in  every  good  work."  And  so  the 
increased  power  must  be  used  "unto  all  patience  and  long- 
suffering  with  joy." 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  all  New  Testament  teaching  is 
on  the  same  line.  The  constant  cry  is  "forward,"  "higher," 
and  "excelsior."  Not  only  so,  but  there  is  a  close  and  neces- 
sary connection  between  increase  of  knowledge  and  increase 
of  growth.  On  this  point  Spurgeon's  great  sermon  on  H 
Peter  3:18,  "Grow  in  the  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our 
Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ,"  deserves  careful  study,  since 
he  stresses  the  thought  that  we  grow  in  the  grace  by  growing 
in  the  knowledge.  We  must  know  more  to  be  more  and  do 
more.  The  emphatic  thought  here  is  that  a  new  convert  is 
but  a  babe  in  Christ,  able  to  be  nourished  only  by  the  "sincere 
milk  of  the  word,"  i.e.,  its  simplest  truths,  and  by  continued 
indoctrination  in  higher  truths  he  attains  through  fulness  of 
knowledge  to  maturity  of  manhood  in  Christ.     Compare 


ANALYSIS,  PAUL'S  THANKFULNESS        15 

Peter's  similar  teaching  by  letter  to  the  same  people  (I  Pet. 
2:2).  In  Ephesians,  the  companion  letter  to  Colossians,  we 
find  the  thought  greatly  amplified  and  elaborated  (Eph. 
3:11-16). 

Later,  Paul  in  the  Letter  to  the  Hebrews  rebukes  them  for 
remaining  babies :  "For  when  by  reason  of  the  time  ye  ought 
to  be  teachers,  ye  have  need  again  that  someone  teach  you 
the  rudiments  of  the  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of  God  ; 
and  are  become  such  as  have  need  of  milk,  and  not  of  solid 
food.  For  everyone  that  partaketh  of  milk  is  without  expe- 
rience of  the  word  of  righteousness ;  for  he  is  a  babe.  But 
solid  food  is  for  fullgrown  men,  even  those  who  by  reason 
of  use  have  their  senses  exercised  to  discern  good  and  evil. 
Wherefore  leaving  the  doctrine  of  the  first  principles  of 
Christ,  let  us  press  on  unto  full  growth." 

This  prayer  of  Paul  that  the  Colossians  might  have  in- 
crease of  knowledge  and  spiritual  power  was  most  pertinent 
to  their  condition  as  reported  by  Epaphras.  If  they  had 
known  more  of  the  gospel,  they  would  have  been  less  at  the 
mercy  of  the  false  teachers  leading  them  astray  with  vain 
philosophy,  and  if  they  had  attained  greater  spiritual  power 
they  would  not  have  been  in  danger  of  falling  through  weak- 
ness. It  is  the  ignorant  and  undeveloped  Christians  who 
support  impostors,  freaks,  and  cranks.  On  this  point  it  might 
be  profitable  to  read  my  sermon  on  "Lambs,  Little  Sheep 
and  Sheep." 

We  need  now  to  consider  carefully  what  things  Paul  re- 
garded as  worthy  of  thanks  in  the  Colossians.  When  we 
study  them  we  understand  why  Paul  prayed  that  they  might 
be  thankful  to  the  Father.  Here  are  the  items:  (a)  "Who 
made  us  meet  to  be  partakers  of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints 
in  light."  (b)  "Who  delivered  us  out  of  the  power  of  dark- 
ness." (c)  "Who  translated  us  into  the  kingdom  of  the  Son 
of  His  love."  (d)  "In  whom  we  have  our  redemption,  the 
forgiveness  of  our  sins." 


16       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

To  make  "meet"  is  to  make  fit  or  suitable.  Adam  had  a 
helpmeet  suitable  to  him.  Heaven  is  not  only  a  prepared 
place,  but  for  a  prepared  people.  An  unprepared  man  would 
not  enjoy  heaven.  It  would  be  hell  to  him.  A  wolf  hates  the 
light.  A  sinner  of  the  world,  with  a  mind  that  is  enmity 
against  God  and  holiness,  would  hate  heaven's  light.  Even 
now  we  Christians  are  not  fully  prepared  for  heaven.  While 
regeneration  has  given  a  holy  disposition  to  our  minds  so  that 
we  love  God  and  approve  right  things,  yet  we  need  the 
process  of  sanctification  to  complete  our  holiness  of  spirit, 
and  we  further  need  the  resurrection  and  glorification  of  our 
bodies  that  the  whole  man  may  be  prepared  for  the  heavenly 
estate. 

The  delivery  from  the  power  of  darkness  deserves  special 
thankfulness.  As  bearing  on  this,  compare  Paul's  commis- 
sion (Acts  26:  18),  being  sent  to  the  Gentiles  "to  open  their 
eyes,  that  they  may  turn  from  darkness  to  light  and  from 
the  power  of  Satan  unto  God,  that  they  may  receive  remis- 
sion of  sins  and  an  inheritance  among  them  that  are  sancti- 
fied by  faith  in  me."  Darkness  is  the  realm  of  Satan  and  he 
is  its  power,  as  light  is  the  realm  of  Christ  and  He  is  its 
power.  We  ought  to  cultivate  thankfulness  that  we  have 
been  rescued  from  Satan. 

In  illustration  I  have  sometimes  cited  this  fact  of  border 
warfare.  A  settler's  camp  had  been  surprised  by  savages. 
This  was  the  scene  when  help  came:  the  father  was  lying 
across  the  wagon-tongue  killed  and  scalped,  a  little  boy 
mangled  and  scalped  was  hanging  in  a  thorny  bush.  A 
painted  Indian  brute  was  standing  over  a  helpless  girl,  his 
left  hand  twisted  in  her  golden  hair,  his  right  hand  brandish- 
ing the  bloody  scalp-knife,  with  the  mother  kneeling  before 
him  pleading  for  her  child.  What  must  have  been  her  thank- 
fulness for  the  opportune  rescue  of  her  girl  ?  But  how  shall 
this  scene  compare  in  horror  with  that  of  a  sinner  under 
the  power  of  Satan,  led  captive  at  his  will  toward  the  pit  of 


ANALYSIS,  PAUL'S  THANKFULNESS       17 

darkness  where  his  fetters  may  be  riveted  on  the  victim  for- 
ever. In  the  "Three  Hours  of  Darkness,"  in  that  devil- 
darkness,  Christ  on  the  cross  triumphed  over  Satan  and 
rescued  us  from  his  power. 

The  thankfulness  increases  on  our  transfer  to  the  king- 
dom of  the  Son  of  His  Love.  The  phrase,  "Son  of 
His  love,"  needs  explanation.  It  does  not  mean  the  "well 
beloved  Son,"  for  that  expresses  the  Father's  love  for  the 
Son.  It  means  that  the  Son  is  the  representative  and 
depository  of  the  Father's  love  toward  us.  "God  so  loved 
the  world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son  that  who- 
soever believeth  on  Him  should  not  perish  but  have  ever- 
lasting life." 

The  final  ground  of  the  thankful  spirit  which  he  invokes 
on  the  Colossians  is  "our  redemption,  the  forgiveness  of  our 
sins."  There  can  be  no  more  disturbing  thought  than  the 
exact  record  of  our  sins.  Books  are  kept  in  heaven.  Therein 
is  written  every  evil  desire,  imagination,  thought,  word  or 
deed.  This  book  of  the  transgressions  of  the  finally  impeni- 
tent will  be  opened  at  the  judgment.  But  just  now  in  the 
day  of  mercy  our  Lord  stands  with  uplifted  hands — the  nail- 
pierced  hands — over  that  record,  and  promises  to  any  peni- 
tent believing  sinner  to  bring  down  that  hand  and  blot  out 
the  record  forever. 

/  would  have  the  reader  lay  to  heart  the  solemn  fact  thai 
we  all  sin  in  not  cultivating  the  spirit  of  thankfulness.  We 
continually  pray,  "Give!  Give!  More!  More!"  and  show  not 
due  appreciation  of  what  we  receive. 

This  hinders  the  efficiency  of  our  prayers.  God  more 
freely  gives  to  the  thankful.  I  recall  an  incident  in  my  own 
life.  Once  I  spent  a  half -hour  impressing  on  my  mind,  item 
by  item,  the  grounds  of  gratitude  in  this  passage,  and  was 
surprised  to  realize  its  instant  effect  on  my  own  state.  I  was 
blue  when  I  commenced  and  happy  when  I  finished.  The 
fruit  ripened  at  once  in  my  own  heart,  and  I  was  conscious 


18      COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

of  great  unction  and  power  in  prayer.    We  come  now  to 
the  second  division  of  our  outline : 

II.  The  Doctrine  of  Christ's  Person,  i :  15-23 — This  doc- 
trine is  presented  here  in  three  relations — to  the  Father,  to 
the  material  universe  with  all  its  intelligences,  and  to  the 
church.  This  passage  has  been  a  battleground  of  contro- 
versy for  ages.  "What  think  ye  of  Christ?"  has  ever  been  a 
touch-stone  question.  Let  us  consider  Christ's  person  in 
each  relation. 

(a)  In  relation  to  the  Father.  The  words  expressing  this 
relation  are  few :  "Who  is  the  image  of  the  invisible  God." 
"Image"  and  "invisible"  stand  over  against  each  other, 
"image"  meaning  that  which  may  be  seen,  "invisible"  that 
which  may  not  be  seen.  So  that,  as  it  were,  we  might  read, 
"Who  is  the  visible  of  the  invisible  God."  Compare  Heb. 
1:3:  "Who  being  the  effulgence  [shining  forth]  of  His 
glory  and  the  very  image  of  His  substance."  Compare  John's 
expression,  "God  manifest."  Compare  His  mission  to  "reveal 
the  Father."  Compare  His  reply  to  Philip :  "Lord  show  us 
the  Father  and  it  sufficeth  us.  Jesus  saith  unto  him.  Have  I 
been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  dost  thou  not  know  me, 
Philip  ?  He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father.  How 
sayest  thou.  Show  us  the  Father?"  And  particularly  Phil. 
2:6:  "Existing  in  the  form  of  God."  This  makes  "image" 
equal  to  John's  declaration,  "The  Logos  was  God,"  i.e., 
essential  deity  in  nature. 

(b)  In  relation  to  the  universe  with  all  its  created  intelli- 
gences. Here  we  have  six  strong  expressions :  ( i )  First- 
born of  all  creation;  (2)  Creation  was  in  Him;  (3)  Cre- 
ation was  through  Him;  (4)  Creation  was  unto  Him;  (5) 
He  was  before  all  things ;  (6)  By  Him  all  things  consist. 

The  Arians  in  later  days  contended  that  "firstborn  of 
all  creation"  meant  that  He  was  the  first  to  be  created,  as 
"firstborn  from  the  dead"  in  verse  18  means  the  first  to  be 
raised  from  the  dead.    This,  of  course,  denies  His  essential 


(AJSTALYSIS,  PAUL'S  THANKFULNESS       19 

deity  and  eternity  of  being,  since  it  makes  Him  a  mere  crea- 
ture. To  the  Arian  interpretation  we  must  oppose  ( i )  the 
fact  that  it  is  not  consistent  with  the  five  other  strong  terms 
of  the  context.  (2)  In  the  original  there  is  a  difference  of 
construction  between  "firstborn  of  creation"  and  "firstborn 
from  the  dead."  (3)  It  is  out  of  harmony  with  the  corre- 
sponding passages  in  John  and  in  the  Letter  to  the  Hebrews. 
When  creation  is  said  to  be  "in  Him,"  "through  Him,"  and 
"unto  Him"  and  "consists  by  Him,"  and  "He  was  before  all 
created  things  and  beings,"  we  cannot  count  Him  a  creature. 
The  reader  must  note  the  great  force  of  the  prepositions, 
"in,"  "through"  and  "unto."  "In  Him"  denotes  source, 
potentiality,  as  in  John,  "In  Him  was  light,  in  Him  the  life," 
denoting  origin,  source,  fountain.  "Through  Him"  denotes 
the  creative  act,  "Unto  Him"  the  creative  end  or  purpose. 
"Consisting  by  Him"  denotes  the  standing,  on  continued 
preservation  concerning  all  the  powers  of  Providence.  As 
Lightfoot  puts  it,  "He  is  the  source  of  the  life,  the  center 
of  its  development,  the  mainspring  of  all  its  motio.is."  The 
reader  will  note  the  Arian  false  interpretation  of  Phil.  2 : 6, 
7,  in  the  exposition  of  that  letter. 

In  view  of  the  Colossian  heresy  we  should  particularly  note 
the  sweeping  statement,  "In  the  heavens  and  upon  the  earth, 
things  visible  and  things  invisible,  whether  thrones  or  domin- 
ions or  principalities  or  pov/ers,"  and  should  compare  the 
teaching  in  Hebrews  on  the  infinite  distinction  between  Christ 
and  the  angels.  "Firstborn"  in  Col.  1:15  must  refer  back 
to  its  ancient  meaning,  expressing  sovereignty,  heirship,  as 
primal  head  and  Lord.  It  has  been  well  said,  "The  idea  of 
the  Son  of  God  being  a  part  of  creation  was  foreign  to  Paul's 
mind  and  to  the  thought  of  his  day." 

Words  cannot  be  formed  to  express  the  idea  of  essential 
deity  if  the  words  of  John  and  Paul  do  not  express  the  deity 
of  the  Son  of  God  who  was  manifested  and  became  flesh  in 
order  to  our  redemption. 


20      COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 


QUESTIONS 

'♦ 

1.  What  the  difficulty  of  exposition  in  this  letter? 

2.  Give  the  author's  analysis. 

3.  What  distinction  emphasized  in  the  outline? 

4.  Of  what  does  the  textual  introduction  consist? 

5.  To  whom  addressed,  and  why? 

6.  What  the  ground  of  Paul's  thanksgiving  here? 

7.  What  the  meaning  of  "hope"  in  verse  5  ? 

8.  Itemize  Paul's  prayer  for  them. 

9.  What  is  the  relation  of  knowledge  and  growth  ? 

10.  What  Paul's  rebuke  to  the  Hebrews  ? 

11.  What  the  application  to  the  Colossians? 

12.  What  things  did  Paul  consider  worthy  of  thanksgiving? 

13.  What  is  the  meaning  of  "meet"  in  1 :  12?    Illustrate. 

14.  What  is  the  meaning  of  "delivered  us  out  of  the  power  of 
darkness"  in  1:13?    Illustrate. 

15.  What  the  meaning  of  "Son  of  His  love?" 

16.  What  the  greatest  blessing  for  which  we  should  be  thankful 
to  God? 

17.  What  three  relations  of  the  person  of  Christ? 

18.  What  expresses  his  relation  to  the  Father  ? 

19.  With  what  scriptures  should  this  be  compared? 

20.  Sum  up  all  these  in  one  sentence. 

21.  On  His  relation  to  the  universe,  answer :  (i)  What  the  Arian 
contention  relative  to  "firstborn  of  all  creation,"  and  upon  what  scrip- 
ture is  this  interpretation  based?  (2)  What  the  three-fold  reply  to 
this  contention?  (3)  What  the  meaning  of  "creation  was  in  Him?" 
(4)  What  the  meaning  of  "creation  was  through  Him?"  (5)  What 
the  meaning  of  "creation  unto  Him?"  (6)  What  the  meaning  of 
"He  was  before  all  things?"  (7)  What  the  meaning  of  "By  Him 
all  things  consist?" 

22.  On  1 :  16,  "Thrones,  dominions,  principalities,  powers,"  an- 
swer: (i)  Are  angels  referred  to?  (2)  Do  the  terms  express  a 
hierarchy,  i.e.,  a  graded  order  of  angels?  (3)  Does  the  apostle 
express  his  belief  in  a  hierarchy  of  angels  ? 

23.  Then  what  is  the  meaning  of  "firstborn  of  all  creation?" 


Ill 

CHRIST'S  RELATION  TO  THE  CHURCH 
Scripture:  Col.  i :  18-22 

BEFORE  taking  up  this  chapter  proper  let  us  review- 
briefly  the  doctrinal  part  of  the  previous  chapter.  We 
stopped  at  1:17,  and  the  special  points  made  were 
that  Christ  in  His  relation  to  the  Father  was  the  image  or 
visible  of  God  invisible.  The  term  "image"  was  further  care- 
fully explained  in  this  context,  being  interpreted  by  the  sub- 
sequent qualifications  that  creation  was  "in  Him,"  "through 
Him,"  "unto  Him"  and  "consisting  by  Him,"  and  He  was 
"before  all  things."  All  these  expressions  were  in  turn  care- 
fully explained  in  their  own  context  and  compared  with  the 
parallel  passages  in  John's  gospel  and  Revelation,  in  Hebrews 
and  Philippians,  and  their  bearing  on  the  essential  deity  of 
Christ  was  pointed  out,  together  with  their  pertinence  to 
the  prevalence  of  the  heresy  at  Colosse.  We  should  espe- 
cially fix  clearly  and  definitely  in  our  minds  the  meaning  of 
the  words  "image,"  "firstborn,"  "consist,"  and  the  force  of 
the  prepositions  "in,"  "through,"  "unto"  and  "before." 

This  chapter,  commencing  at  i :  18,  considers  Christ's 
relation  to  the  church  expressed  in  the  figure  of  a  head  and 
body.  Whenever  this  figure  (a  common  one  with  Paul)  is 
employed,  the  church  is  conceived  of  as  an  organism,  a  much 
stronger  term  than  organization,  but  by  that  very  fact  empha- 
sizing the  inherent,  essential  idea  of  organization  in  the 
word  "church."  The  word  "head"  implies  not  only  sover- 
eignty but  rule,  the  source  of  the  body's  life  and  growth 
through  vital  connection  with  it.    In  every  sense  of  the  word 

21 


n      COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

"church,"  Christ  is  the  head.  He  is  the  head  of  every  par- 
ticular church  in  which  alone  the  institution  expresses  itself, 
and  He  is  the  head  of  the  prospective  church  in  glory,  whose 
constituent  elements,  or  component  parts,  will  be  the  whole 
number  of  the  elect  saved  by  Him. 

The  only  sense  in  which  the  church  in  the  third  meaning 
above  now  exists,  is  in  the  gathering  and  preparing  of  mate- 
rial, which,  when  all  is  gathered  and  fully  prepared,  will 
be  constructively  fitted  together  as  an  everlasting  habitation 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  time  and  circumstances  of  the  con- 
stitution of  the  universal,  or  glory-church,  with  every  orderly 
step  leading  thereto,  are  as  clearly  set  forth  as  in  the  case  of 
any  particular  church  here  on  earth :  ( i )  Jesus  will  come  in 
glory.  Matt.  25 :  31 ;  (2)  He  will  bring  with  Him  the  spirits 
of  the  just  made  perfect,  I  Thess.  4:  14;  (3)  will  raise  and 
glorify  their  bodies,  I  Thess.  4 :  16 ;  (4)  will  change,  or  trans- 
figure, living  Christians,  I  Thess.  4:  17  and  I  Cor.  15  :  51-54; 

(5)  will  separate  Christians  from  sinners,  Matt.  25:  32,  33; 

(6)  will  present  the  church  to  himself  as  a  glorified  bride, 
Eph.  5  :  27 ;  Rev.  21 :  2,  9 ;  19 :  7-9 ;  (7)  Infilling  of  the  fin- 
ished Temple  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  Rev.  21 :  3.  This  church, 
when  constituted,  will  be  a  local,  visible,  organized  assembly. 
It  is  as  yet  only  a  concept  to  become  an  actuality,  a  plan  of 
the  architect  according  to  which  he  continually  works  in 
order  ultimately  to  a  finished  house,  a  purpose  of  the  divine 
mind  conceived  of  as  fulfilled,  because  with  Him  the  end  is 
present  as  well  as  the  beginning. 

It  is  every  way  important  that  the  reader  should  have  clear 
ideas  of  the  several  meanings  of  the  word  "church,"  set  forth 
above,  and  be  able  to  determine  from  the  context  which  one 
of  the  meanings  is  employed  in  any  particular  passage.  While 
this  is  essential  to  a  right  interpretation  of  the  word  where- 
ever  it  is  used  in  the  New  Testament,  it  is  emphatically  so 
in  Colossians  and  Ephesians  which,  while  employing  the 
word  in  all  its  meanings,  especially  stress  the  third  meaning. 


CHRIST  AND  THE  CHURCH  ^ 

Full  discussion  of  this  matter  will  be  reserved  to  the  exposi- 
tion of  Ephesians  whose  usage  is  much  more  extended  and 
elaborate.  And  I  say  in  advance  that  whoever  can  expound 
the  word  "church"  in  Colossians  and  Ephesians  is  a  past 
master  in  exegesis  so  far  as  that  term  is  concerned. 

We  find  next  the  expression :  "Who  is  the  beginning,  the 
firstborn  from  the  dead."  There  is  here  a  relation  between 
"the  beginning"  and  the  "firstborn  from  the  dead."  The  two 
expressions  seem  to  be  in  apposition,  the  second  modifying 
or  defining  the  first.  That  is,  Christ  is  called  the  beginning 
from  the  dead  in  that  He  was  the  firstborn  from  the  dead. 
He  had  the  pre-eminence  in  relation  to  the  creation,  as  has 
been  set  forth,  and  the  pre-eminence  in  relation  to  the  church, 
just  expressed,  so  must  He  now  have  pre-eminence  in  rela- 
tion to  the  dead,  being  the  beginning  or  firstborn  from  the 
dead.  Thus  it  pleased  the  Father  that  in  Him  all  the  fulness 
should  dwell — fulness  as  to  being  God's  image,  fulness  as  to 
creation,  fulness  as  to  the  church,  fulness  as  to  the  resur- 
rection. 

On  the  meaning  of  "firstborn  from  the  dead"  the  question 
of  fact  has  been  raised :  Was  the  resurrection  of  Christ  abso- 
lutely the  first  one  in  history?  We  must  say,  "Yes,  abso- 
lutely." Elsewhere  He  is  called  "the  first  fruits  of  them 
that  are  asleep."  It  has  been  objected  that  Lazarus  and 
others  were  raised  from  the  dead.  But  all  these  were  but 
restorations  to  life  under  the  old  conditions.  The  bodies 
were  not  glorified.  They  were  yet  subject  to  mortality, 
weakness,  dishonor,  and  corruption.  They  all  died  again. 
In  Christ's  case  He  rose  to  die  no  more.  There  was  com- 
plete and  final  triumph  over  the  grave.  "I  was  dead  and 
behold  I  am  alive  forevermore."  Again,  it  has  been  objected 
that  Moses,  who  certainly  died  and  was  buried,  was  seen 
alive  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration.  Yes,  but  was  not 
alive  in  the  body.  The  Jewish  myth  of  the  assumption  of 
the  body  of  Moses  is  as  false  as  the  later  papal  myth  of  the 


U       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

assumption  of  the  body  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  The  bodies  of 
Moses  and  of  Mary  are  yet  "mouldering  in  the  ground." 
EHjah,  indeed,  was  bodily  visible  on  the  Mount  to  Peter, 
James  and  John,  but  Elijah,  like  Enoch,  was  translated  that 
he  should  not  see  death.  The  disciples  were  illumined  to 
see  Moses  in  the  spirit  as  well  as  Elijah  in  the  body.  The 
purpose  of  the  Transfiguration  is  defeated  if  we  interpret 
that  Moses  was  there  bodily.  The  Transfiguration  scene 
was  designed,  at  least  in  part,  to  give  a  miniature  repre- 
sentation of  the  second  coming  of  Christ,  as  follows:  (i) 
When  He  comes  He  will  come  in  glory  (Christ  was  there 
seen  glorified).  (2)  When  He  comes  living  Christians  will 
be  glorified  without  death.  Elijah  represented  that  class. 
(3)  When  He  comes  He  will  raise  the  dead.  Moses  repre- 
sented the  class  to  be  raised.  So  that  the  Transfiguration 
scene  imaged  in  miniature  the  power  and  majesty  of  the 
second  advent.  John  so  understood  it,  for  he  testifies :  "We 
beheld  His  glory,  as  the  glory  of  the  only  begotten  from  the 
Father,"  John  i :  14.  Peter  so  understood  it,  for  he  testifies : 
"For  we  did  not  follow  cunningly  devised  fables  when  we 
made  known  unto  you  the  power  and  coming  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  but  we  were  eye-witnesses  of  His  majesty.  For 
He  received  from  God  the  Father  honor  and  glory,  when 
there  was  borne  such  a  voice  to  Him  by  the  Majestic  Glory, 
This  is  my  beloved  Son  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased :  and  this 
voice  we  ourselves  heard  borne  out  of  heaven,  when  we  were 
with  Him  in  the  Holy  Mount,"  H  Peter  i :  16-18.  He  had 
said,  "There  are  some  of  them  that  stand  here  who  shall  in  no 
wise  taste  of  death  till  they  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in 
His  kingdom,"  Matt.  16 :  28.  Or,  as  Mark  puts  it :  "Till  they 
see  the  kingdom  of  God  come  with  power,"  9:1.  Or,  as 
Luke  puts  it :  "Till  they  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 

Matthew  prefaced  his  statement  with  the  words:  "For 
the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  the  glory  of  His  Father  with 
His  angels,"  thus  showing  that  the  kingdom  they  would  be 


CHRIST  AND  THE  CHURCH  25 

enabled  to  see  before  death  was  not  the  kingdom  in  any  of 
its  earthly  aspects,  but  the  glory-kingdom  at  His  second 
advent.  The  promise  finds  no  fulfillment  except  on  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration,  and  both  Peter  and  John  declare 
it  to  be  a  vision  of  Christ  in  glory  as  at  His  second  advent. 
Hence  to  represent  Moses  as  having  already  risen  from 
the  dead  destroys  the  completeness  of  the  Transfiguration- 
imagery  to  represent  all  the  power  and  majesty  of  the  second 
advent. 

Again  it  has  been  objected  that  some  of  the  saints  rose 
from  the  dead  at  the  moment  Christ  died  on  the  cross.  This 
objection  misreads  the  scripture,  which  says,  **And  the  tombs 
were  opened ;  and  many  bodies  of  the  saints  that  had  fallen 
asleep  were  raised ;  and  coming  forth  out  of  the  tombs  after 
His  resurrection  they  entered  into  the  Holy  City  and  ap- 
peared unto  many,"  Matt.  27 :  52,  53.  Let  us  not  balk  at  the 
doctrine.  It  is  fundamental.  Christ  is  the  firstborn  from  the 
dead.  In  that  old  English  classic,  "The  Spectator,"  is  an 
article  by  Addison  entitled,  "The  Vision  of  Mirza."  In  this 
vision  Mirza  sees  a  flowing  river  whose  source  and  exit  are 
hidden  in  clouds,  but  across  the  section  visible  is  a  bridge  over 
which  pours  the  tide  of  successive  generations.  The  bridge 
is  sadly  out  of  repair,  and  so,  sooner  or  later,  each  passing 
pilgrim  drops  through  some  crevice  into  the  river  below  and 
is  swept  away  into  the  impenetrable  darkness  which  veils 
its  exit.  The  vision  was  designed  to  teach  that  unaided 
human  philosophy  can  neither  discover  the  origin  of  life  nor 
the  destiny  to  which  death  bears  us.  Shakespeare  also  rep- 
resents death  as  "that  bourne  from  which  no  traveler  has  ever 
returned."  Like  the  tracks  of  the  animals  which  visited  the 
sick  lion  in  the  cave,  they  could  all  be  seen  going  in,  but  none 
could  be  seen  coming  out.  So  was  death  a  dark  realm  until 
Jesus  was  raised  and  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light. 
He  is  the  one  traveler  who  has  returned  from  death  and  for 
us  flashes  light  on  its  secrets.    He  tells  of  the  state  of  disem- 


26       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

bodied  spirits,  good  and  bad,  of  His  coming  advent  in  glory, 
bringing  with  Him  the  souls  of  the  saints  in  heaven  and  drag- 
ging to  Him  the  souls  of  the  wicked  in  hell,  and  the  general 
resurrection  of  both  the  just  and  the  unjust,  the  reunion  of 
long  severed  souls  and  bodies,  the  general  judgment  of  all, 
and  the  final  state  of  the  just  and  the  unjust. 

All  this  is  pledged  in  His  own  resurrection.  He  is  declared 
to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power  by  His  resurrection.  Or,  as 
the  Psalmist  puts  it :  "This  day  have  I  begotten  thee,"  refer- 
ring to  the  demonstrations  of  His  sonship  by  the  resurrection. 
Just  here  it  is  important  to  note  that  what  we  call  the  second 
advent  will  be  really  the  third.  When  He  suffered  on  the 
cross  His  spirit  left  this  world  and  went  to  the  Father.  There, 
as  high  priest.  He  made  the  atonement  behind  the  veil  by 
sprinkling  His  own  blood  on  the  mercy-seat  in  the  true  Holy 
of  Holies.  On  the  third  day  He  returned  to  earth  for  His 
risen  body,  and  this  was  His  second  advent.  So  "when  He 
bringeth  His  only  begotten  again  into  the  world.  He  said.  Let 
all  the  angels  of  God  worship  Him,"  Heb.  i :  6.  His  first 
advent  was  to  assume  by  incarnation  the  body  of  His  humili- 
ation. This  was  when  He  was  born  of  Mary.  His  second 
advent  was  when  He  returned  from  heaven  to  assume  His 
body  of  glory.  This  was  when  He  was  born  by  the  resurrec- 
tion. His  third  advent  will  be  when  He  comes  to  assume  His 
mystical  body — the  church — and  to  judge  the  world. 

This  is  a  great  doctrine — a  multiform  doctrine — the  resur- 
rection of  Christ.  It  is  the  one  sign  of  His  divinity  and  the 
one  pledge  of  our  glory.  As  an  historical  fact  it  is  attested 
by  witnesses.  John  says,  "That  which  we  have  seen  with  our 
eyes,  heard  with  our  ears,  and  handled  with  our  hands — 
that  we  declare  unto  you."  He  himself  said,  "A  spirit  hath 
not  flesh  and  bones,  such  as  ye  see  me  have — handle  me  and 
see."  Luke  said,  "He  showed  himself  alive  after  His  pas- 
sion, by  many  infallible  proofs." 

The  church,  with  all  its  officers  and  ordinances,  under  the 


CHRIST  AND  THE  CHURCH  27 

guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  the  witness  through  the  ages 
to  His  last  advent  that  Jesus  is  alive — He  was  dead,  but  is 
alive  forever  more.  Apostles,  prophets,  evangelists,  pastors 
and  teachers  are  all  witnesses  to  this  one  great  pivotal  fact — 
that  Jesus  is  risen  indeed.  Baptism  is  a  witness  to  the  same 
fact  whenever  administered  in  font,  pool,  flowing  stream, 
lake,  gulf,  sea  or  ocean.  It  memorializes  all  spectators  on 
earth,  in  hell,  in  heaven,  that  Christ  is  risen,  is  alive,  is  exalted 
to  be  the  head  of  the  church,  and  head  over  all  things  to  the 
church.  The  Lord's  Supper  testifies  that  He  died  for  our 
sins,  but  is  alive  now,  and  points  its  finger  of  triumphant 
hope  to  His  last  advent,  for  "as  oft  as  ye  do  this  ye  show 
forth  the  Lord's  death  till  He  come." 

Both  all  pre-eminence  and  all  fulness  are  vested  in  Christ. 
So  is  the  Father's  good  pleasure.  That  there  are  heights 
and  depths  in  this  thought  seldom  realized  by  the  profoundest 
Bible  students  will  appear  as  we  examine  the  next  thought — 
the  thought  of  reconciliation  and  its  scope.  Mark  the  text : 
"And  through  Him  to  reconcile  all  things  unto  himself  .  .  . 
whether  things  upon  the  earth  or  things  in  the  heavens."  Or, 
as  the  thought  is  more  broadly  expressed  in  Phil.  2:10,  "That 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow,  of  beings  in 
heaven,  beings  on  earth,  and  beings  under  the  earth" 

In  some  real  sense  the  atonement  made  by  Christ  in  the\ 
Holy  of  Holies  in  heaven,  based  upon  His  expiation  on  the 
cross,  will  touch  either  to  save,  confirm,  or  subdue  every 
angel  m  heaven  or  hell,  every  man,  saint  or  sinner.  The^ 
saints  it  saves,  the  good  angels  it  confirms,  bad  men  an(i 
demons  it  subdues,  so  that  they  ground  arms  of  active  rebel- 
lion, and  in  receipt  of  final  punishment  and  chains  show  that 
the  war  against  God  is  over  forever,  and  the  whole  uni- 
verse IS  PACIFIED. 

Throughout  the  universe  the  authority  of  God  is  forever 
established.  The  kingdoms  of  this  evil  world  have  become 
the  kingdom  of  Christ ;  Satan's  kingdom  is  overturned ;  the 


28       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

earth  itself  is  redeemed  unto  the  Hberty  of  the  children  of 
God ;  death  and  Hades  are  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire,  and  even 
Gehenna  itself  shall  float  no  flag  of  rebellion.  There  is  no 
more  conspiring  or  fighting  against  God.  Gehenna's  in- 
mates, men  and  demons,  in  everlasting  punishment,  endure, 
but  resist  no  more.  All  things  through  Christ  are  in  this  way 
reconciled.  As  when  a  victorious  army  marches  through  a 
revolting  province,  disperses  all  armed  companies,  captures 
all  strongholds,  receives  the  surrender  of  all  antagonists, 
rescues  and  rewards  all  the  loyal,  expels,  confines  and  pun- 
ishes all  the  disloyal. 

Angels  and  men  finally  lost  are  not  merely  conquered  in 
the  sense  that  they  surrender  and  are  by  banishment  and  con- 
finement debarred  from  future  revolt,  but  they  are  forced 
to  see  and  publicly  acknowledge  on  bended  knee  that 
CHRIST  is  King  and  their  punishment  is  just. 

More  than  this :  Because  angels  were  appointed  to  be  min- 
istering spirits  to  man,  who  was  made  originally  "lower  than 
the  angels,"  Satan,  through  pride,  revolted.  He  was  unwill- 
ing to  be  subordinate  to  the  lower  creature — man.  This  was 
the  origin  of  sin  in  heaven,  and  led  to  Satan's  being  cast  out 
from  heaven  with  his  fellow  apostates.  Hence  his  hatred  of 
man  and  his  purpose  through  temptation  to  alienate  him  from 
God  and  thereby  destroy  him,  and  thus  defeat  the  purpose  of 
God  in  subordinating  him  to  man.  This  led  to  sin  on  earth, 
and  thus  man  passed  under  bondage  to  Satan  with  the  earth, 
his  home. 

But  Jesus,  the  Second  man,  was  appointed  to  destroy  the 
devil  and  his  works.  On  the  cross  of  expiation  He  triumphed 
over  Satan,  making  a  show  of  him  openly,  despoiling  princi- 
palities and  powers  as  we  see  further  on  in  this  letter. 
Through  His  consequent  exaltation  to  the  throne  of  the  uni- 
verse, He  makes  all  things  work  together  for  good  toward 
the  consummation  described  above.  Now  the  unfallen  angels 
were  yet  on  probation.    They  did  not  follow  Satan,  but  it 


CHRIST  AND  THE  CHURCH  29 

remained  to  be  seen  if  they  would  actually  become  minister- 
ing spirits  to  the  human  Jieirs  of  salvation  achieved  by 
Christ's  expiation.  If  they  did  so  become,  then  they  would 
be  confirmed  and  so  lose  all  liability  to  fall,  and  thus  things 
in  heaven  would  be  reconciled.  When  the  saints  at  Christ's 
advent  sit  with  Him  on  His  glory-throne  they  will  "judge 
angels."  Their  testimony  of  help  received  vindicates  and 
confirms  the  unfallen  angels.  The  fallen  angels  who  fell 
through  unwillingness  to  be  under  man  are  now  brought 
before  men  to  be  judged.  Think  of  it !  Peter  and  Job  judg- 
ing Satan !  When  Satan  and  his  angels  thus  bow  the  knee  to 
redeemed  and  glorified  humanity,  confess  their  sovereignty, 
and  receive  sentence  of  punishment  from  them  and  go  away 
into  everlasting  confinement,  the  war  is  over  and  all  things 
are  reconciled.  What  a  pity  that  Milton  in  his  great  epic, 
"Paradise  Lost,"  so  misconceived  the  reason  of  Satan's 
rebellion !  And  what  a  greater  pity  that  in  his  feebler  epic, 
"Paradise  Regained,"  he  stops  at  Christ's  resistance  to 
Satan's  temptation,  so  very  short  of  the  cross.  But  Milton, 
in  more  points  than  one,  was  a  very  unsound  theologian. 

This  Letter  to  the  Colossians  transcends  all  other  scrip- 
tures in  its  comprehensive  grasp  of  the  atonement.  Very 
clearly  it  shows  that  the  cross  is  the  keystone  of  the  arch — 
the  hinge  on  which  swings  open  every  door  of  revelation.  No 
wonder  its  author  could  say  elsewhere:  "I  determined  to 
know  nothing  among  you  but  the  cross.  God  forbid  that  I 
should  glory  save  in  the  cross,  and  if  an  angel  from  heaven 
should  preach  any  other  gospel,  let  him  be  anathema." 

We  thus  see  that  Christ's  first  advent  was  to  assume  the 
body  of  His  humiliation  and  in  it  to  make  expiation  on  the 
cross,  followed  by  His  making  the  atonement,  or  reconcili- 
ation in  heaven,  where,  for  this  purpose,  His  spirit  went 
immediately  after  His  death,  and  this,  in  turn,  followed  by 
His  second  advent  to  earth  for  His  risen  or  glorified  body, 
and  this  followed  by  His  ascension,  soul  and  body,  to  the 


30       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

throne  of  the  universe,  and  this  followed  by  His  sending  of 
His  vicar,  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  accredit,  endue,  and  abide  with 
His  church,  and  this  followed  by  His  reign  in  heaven  and 
the  Spirit's  reign  on  earth  in  the  church,  and  this  followed 
by  His  third  advent  to  assume  His  mystical  body,  the  glori- 
fied church,  and  this  followed  by  the  final  judgment,  and 
this  followed  by  the  Spirit-filled  glorified  church,  descending 
to  occupy  the  now  purified  and  redeemed  earth,  not  only  com- 
pletes the  story  of  reconciliation,  or  purification  of  the  uni- 
verse, but  shows  how  the  reconciliation  severally  touches  all 
beings  and  things,  saving  saints,  confirming  good  angels,  sub- 
duing and  forever  expelling  evil  angels  and  men,  so  that 
in  all  His  holy  mountain  there  is  nothing  left  to  offend,  to 
make  afraid,  to  awaken  tears,  or  to  incite  to  pain,  sickness,  or 
death. 

But  while  all  this  presents  reconciliation  in  its  general 
aspects,  we  need  to  consider  it,  as  does  Paul,  in  its  special 
relation  to  the  Colossians.  Reconciliation  implies  previous 
alienation.  Sin  alienated  God  from  men  and  men  from  God. 
Christ  is  the  mediator  who  brings  the  two  together.  The 
ground  of  His  mediation  is  His  sacrificial  and  vicarious 
death.  This  satisfies  the  punitive  demands  of  the  law,  and  so 
propitiates  or  placates  toward  God.  The  offering  of  the 
blood  of  the  sacrifice  by  Christ  as  High  Priest,  in  the  Holy 
of  Holies  in  heaven,  reconciles  God.  The  reconciliation  of 
men  to  God  is  effected  by  the  ministry  of  the  gospel,  savingly 
applied  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Accordingly  Paul  says  in  our 
text :  "And  you,  being  in  times  past  alienated  and  enemies 
in  your  mind  and  in  your  evil  works,  yet  now  hath  He 
reconciled  in  the  body  of  His  flesh,  through  death,  to  present 
you  holy  and  without  blemish  and  unreprovable  before  Him." 

The  last  clause  shows  not  only  the  end  of  reconciliation, 
but  indicates  that  their  salvation  involves  more  than  justi- 
fication Not  only  must  the  penal  sanctions  of  the  law  be 
satisfied,  but  they  must  be  internally  fitted  for  presentation 


CHRIST  AND  THE  CHURCH  31 

to  God.  That  is,  not  only  saved  from  guilt  and  condemnation 
of  sin,  but  also  from  its  dominion  in  their  hearts  and  lives. 
This  makes  the  doctrine  of  reconciliation  intensely  practical. 
It  involves  regeneration,  sanctification  and  glorification.  The 
presentation  of  the  redeemed  in  the  completeness  of  salvation 
is  a  definite  and  official  transaction.  Indeed,  it  is  compared 
to  a  marriage.  We  are  engaged  or  betrothed  to  Christ  by 
faith  here  in  time.  Paul  says:  "I  have  espoused  you  to 
Christ  as  a  chaste  virgin."  The  marriage  comes  later.  The 
bride  must  be  made  ready  for  the  husband.  This  marriage 
takes  place  when  our  Lord  comes  again.  In  the  accompany- 
ing Letter  to  the  Ephesians  the  thought  is  amplified,  closing 
thus:  "That  He  might  present  the  church  unto  himself  a 
glorious  church,  not  having  a  spot  or  wrinkle  or  any  such 
thing;  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without  blemish." 

The  grandest  scene  of  time  or  eternity  will  be  this  presen- 
tation of  the  redeemed  considered  as  a  unit,  a  bride,  glorious 
in  her  apparel.  So  in  the  apocalypse  John  saw  and  heard : 
"And  I  heard  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  great  multitude,  and 
as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  mighty 
thunders,  saying.  Hallelujah:  for  the  Lord  our  God,  the 
Almighty,  reigneth.  Let  us  rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad, 
and  let  us  give  the  glory  unto  Him ;  for  the  marriage  of  the 
Lamb  is  come,  and  His  wife  hath  made  herself  ready.  And 
it  was  given  unto  her  that  she  should  array  herself  in  fine 
linen,  bright  and  pure ;  for  the  fine  linen  is  the  righteous  acts 
of  the  saints.  And  He  saith  unto  me.  Write,  Blessed  are 
they  that  are  bidden  to  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb," 
Rev.  19:6-9. 

Reconciliation  is  therefore  a  call  to  holiness.  Let  not  Bap- 
tist preachers  skip  this  "if"  of  Paul's :  "//  so  be  that  ye  con- 
tinue in  the  faith,  grounded  and  steadfast,  and  not  moved 
away  from  the  hope  of  the  gospel."  A  transient  faith  is  not 
the  faith  of  the  gospel.  Any  professed  regeneration  that 
does  not  move  on  toward  sanctification  is  not  true  regenera- 


33       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

tion.  It  was  not  the  purpose  of  God  to  imitate  human  rulers 
who,  when  exercising  power,  turn  loose  a  criminal  on  society. 
"Whom  God  justifies,  them  He  sanctifies  and  glorifies." 

QUESTIONS 

1.  How  is  Christ's  relation  to  the  church  expressed  ? 

2.  What  the  conception  of  the  church  in  the  use  of  this  figure? 

3.  What  does  the  word,  "head,"  imply? 

4.  In  what  senses  of  the  word,  "church,"  is  Christ  the  head? 

5.  In  what  sense  only  does  the  glory  church  now  exist? 

6.  What  the  time  and  circumstances  of  the  constitution  of  the 
glory  church?    (State  this  in  seven  orderly  steps.) 

7.  When  so  constituted,  what  will  be  the  nature  of  this  glory 
church  ? 

8.  Which  meanings  of  the  word,  "church,"  are  employed  in 
Colossians  and  Ephesians? 

9.  What  the  relation  between  "the  beginning"  and  the  "firstborn 
from  the  dead?" 

10.  What  do  they  mean  ? 

11.  What  question  of  fact  raised  here? 

12.  What  its  answer  ? 

13.  Explain,  then,  the  cases  of  Lazarus,  Moses  and  Elijah,  and 
their  bearing  on  the  Transfiguration. 

14.  Give  proof  that  the  Transfiguration  gave  a  miniature  repre- 
sentation of  Christ's  second  advent. 

15.  What  a  second  objection  and  its  answer? 

16.  What  the  vision  of  Mirza? 

17.  What  is  it  designed  to  teach  ? 

18.  Explain  His  several  advents,  and  the  purpose  of  each. 

19.  What  the  one  sign  of  Christ's  divinity  and  the  one  pledge  of 
His  glory? 

20.  What  the  witnesses  to  the  fact  that  Jesus  is  alive  ? 

21.  What  the  scope  of  Christ's  reconciliation?    Explain  fully. 

22.  Give  an  account  of  the  origin  of  sin:  (i)  By  whom  origi- 
nated?    (2)  Where?     (3)  The  cause?     (4)  The  result? 

23.  Who  was  appointed  to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil,  and 
when  was  it  accomplished? 

24.  What  the  position  of  the  unf alien  angels  now? 

25.  What  the  position  of  the  saints  at  the  judgment? 

26.  What  vital  mistake  in  Milton's  "Paradise  Lost?"  In  "Para- 
dise Regained?" 

27.  In  what  does  this  letter  transcend  all  other  scriptures,  and 
what  the  keystone  of  the  arch  of  revelation? 

28.  On  reconciliation  in  its  special  relation  to  the  Colossians 
answer:  (i)  What  does  it  imply?  (2)  Who  the  mediator?  (3) 
What  the  ground  of  reconciliation?  (4)  How  effected?  (5)  How 
applied  ? 

29.  Show  that  salvation  involves  more  than  justification,  and  that 
reconciliation  is  intensely  practical. 


CHRIST  AND  THE  CHURCH  33 

30.  Compare  the  redeemed  to  a  bride. 

31.  Describe  the  scene  when  the  bride  shall  be  presented  to  her 
husband. 

32.  What  is,  therefore,  the  call  of  reconciliation? 

33.  Give  the  clause  following  Paul's  "if." 

34.  What  the  evidences  of  real  faith? 


IV 


CHRIST'S  RELATION  TO  THE  FATHER  AND  THE 
UNIVERSE 

Scripture:  Col.  i :  23 — 2 : 7 

THIS  chapter  commences  with  a  question  based  on  the 
King  James  version  of  Col.  i :  23 :  "Which  was 
preached  to  every  creature  which  is  under  heaven." 
In  my  younger  days  the  Hardshell  Baptists  used  this  passage 
to  prove  that  the  commission  in  Mark  16: 15-18,  command- 
ing to  "preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature"  was  literally 
and  finally  fulfilled  by  the  apostles  to  whom  alone  it  was 
given.  They  supported  their  contention  by  citing  the  fact 
that  the  "signs"  in  Mark  16: 17,  18,  which  were  to  accom- 
pany and  confirm  missionary  work  had  long  since  failed, 
and  therefore  missions  were  ended;  that  the  "signs"  were 
a  part  of  the  commission,  and  whoever  now  claimed  authority 
to  do  mission  work  under  that  commission  must  show  the 
signs  or  stand  convicted  of  imposture.  I  used  to  press  this 
point  on  Missionary  Baptist  preachers  to  see  how  they 
would  answer  it.  Finally  one  of  them  passed  the  question 
back  to  me,  "You  are  a  Missionary  Baptist  yourself — how 
do  you  answer  it  ?"    My  reply  was  this : 

I.  Mark  16:15-18  must  be  construed  with  Matt.  28 :  18-20. 
The  perpetuity  of  the  Matthew-commission  appears  from 
"Lo  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world," 
and  from  the  fact  that  the  "make  disciples  of  all  nations" 
is  co-extensive  with  "teaching  them  to  observe  all  things, 
etc.,"  which  Hardshells  themselves  admit  to  be  binding 
now. 

64 


CHRIST  AND  THE  FATHER  35 

2.  Even  after  Paul  had  written,  "which  was  preached  to 
every  creature  which  is  under  heaven,"  he  himself  went  right 
on  in  the  mission  work  and  commanded  others  to  do  the 
same,  which  examples  prove  the  continuity  and  perpetuity 
of  the  commission.  So  also  does  Peter,  as  appears  from 
his  letters  written  after  Paul  wrote  Colossians.  And  so, 
also,  does  John.  See  particularly  the  letter  to  Gains  long 
after  Colossians,  in  which  John  commends  Gains  for  help- 
ing the  missionaries  and  condemns  the  Hardshell — Diot- 
rephes,  verses  6-10. 

3.  We  must  look  to  the  apostle  in  subsequent  teaching  to 
learn  if  the  "signs"  are  always  to  accompany  the  mission 
work,  or  are  to  cease  when  their  accrediting  purpose  is 
accomplished,  I  Cor.  13:8,  13. 

4.  The  accuracy  of  the  King  James  version  of  Col.  i :  23 
is  questionable.  The  revision  thus  renders  Mark  16:15, 
"Preach  the  gospel  to  the  whole  creation,"  and  renders  Col. 
1 :  23,  "which  was  preached  in  all  creation  under  heaven." 
Compare  Rom.  10:18. 

5.  Whatever  the  rendering,  the  Hardshell  interpretation 
is  manifestly  erroneous.  The  gospel  must  be  preached  to 
all  the  world,  generation  by  generation,  and  not  merely  to 
one  generation.  The  church,  as  the  pillar  and  ground  of 
the  truth,  must  continue  to  instruct  the  angels  in  the  manifold 
wisdom  of  God  until  Jesus  comes  (Eph.  3 :  10)  and  must,  by 
its  mission  work,  exhibit  the  glory  of  God  throughout  all 
generations  (Eph.  3:21).  Ephesians  was  v/ritten  after 
Colossians. 

6.  Paul  was  operating  under  a  direct  commission  given 
subsequently  to  the  one  in  Matt.  28  and  Mark  16,  (see  Acts 
9: 15;  22  \  14-21 ;  26:  16-18),  and  transmitted  to  others  the 
carrying  on  of  the  same  mission  work,  H  Tim.  2 :  2. 

The  next  item  in  the  analysis  is  the  parenthetical  explana- 
tion of  the  apostle's  mission  to  the  Gentiles,  and  his  conse- 
quent concern  for  these  Colossians.    That  item  of  the  analysis 


S6       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

extends  from  i :  24  to  2 : 7.  He  is  expounding  here  the 
object  of  his  mission  to  the  Gentiles. 

We  recall  that  when  Paul  was  so  long  a  time  at  Ephesus, 
the  capital  of  the  Roman  province  of  Asia,  in  which  were 
these  Lycus-valley  cities,  that  representatives  from  this 
Lycus  valley  attended  these  meetings,  among  whom  were 
Philemon  and  Epaphras,  of  Colosse,  who  were  both  con- 
verted. And  while  he  himself  at  the  time  of  this  great  meet- 
ing did  not  personally  visit  these  Lycus-valley  cities,  those 
who  were  converted  by  him  did  visit  them  and  plant  the 
gospel  there ;  so  the  establishment  of  the  churches  there  was 
indirectly  attributable  to  him,  and  so  he  would  have  an 
interest  in  them. 

But  apart  from  that  fact,  he  was  the  Christ-appointed 
missionary  to  the  Gentiles,  and  they  were  mostly  Gentiles. 
In  this  valley  there  were  some  Jews.  The  population  was 
blended.  While  ethnologically  most  of  them  were  Phrygians, 
they  were  a  mixed  people ;  some  were  Jews,  some  Greeks, 
and  some  Romans.  But  he  was  concerned  because  the  whole 
Gentile  mission  had  been  turned  over  to  him,  as  to  Peter 
and  the  other  apostles  was  given  the  mission  to  the  Jews. 
So  we  note  when  Peter  writes  a  letter  to  these  very  people 
later,  he  confines  himself  to  the  Jewish  inhabitants,  thus: 
"Peter,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  elect  who  are 
sojourners  of  the  dispersion  in  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia, 
Asia,  and  Bithynia."  While  Peter  writes  to  the  elect  of  the 
sojourners  of  the  dispersion — to  the  dispersed  Jews — Paul 
writes  as  an  apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  What  is  the  difference 
between  the  "to  whom"  that  Paul  wrote  and  the  "to  whom" 
that  Peter  wrote  ?  Paul  wrote  as  an  apostle  to  the  Gentiles, 
and  the  whole  cast  of  his  letter  is  Gentilic.  Peter  wrote  to 
the  Jews  of  the  dispersion,  and  the  whole  cast  of  his  letter 
is  Jewish.  So  then,  because  Paul  was  the  apostle  to  the 
Gentiles,  it  is  a  matter  of  concern  to  him  that  they  should 
take  on  false  doctrine. 


CHRIST  AND  THE  FATHER  S7 

I  call  attention  to  some  expressions  in  verse  24.  He  says, 
"I  rejoice  in  my  sufferings  for  your  sake,  and  fill  up  on  my 
part  that  which  is  lacking  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ  in  my 
flesh  for  His  body's  sake,  which  is  the  church."  Did  Dr. 
Gordon  in  his  book  on  the  Spirit  rightly  interpret  that 
passage,  "I  fill  up  on  my  part  that  which  is  lacking  of  the 
afflictions  of  Christ?"  Or  does  Paul's  suffering  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  Christ's  sacrificial  suffering,  in  order  to  the 
salvation  of  man?  Or  does  he  mean  that  his  sufferings  sup- 
plement the  non-sacrificial  sufferings  of  Christ?  Some  of 
Christ's  sufferings  were  for  our  example  and  others  were 
not.  As  proof  I  cite  I  Pet.  2 :  20 :  "For  what  glory  is  it,  if, 
when  ye  sin,  and  are  buffeted  for  it,  ye  shall  take  it  patiently  ? 
but  if,  when  ye  do  well,  and  suffer  for  it,  ye  shall  take  it 
patiently,  this  is  acceptable  with  God.  For  hereunto  were  ye 
called :  because  Christ  also  suffered  for  you,  leaving  you  an 
example,  that  ye  should  follow  in  His  steps."  So  we  may 
now  follow  the  example  of  Christ's  sufferings,  except  that 
expiatory  part,  and  pur  sufferings  may  supplement  His 
sufferings  except  that  expiatory  part.  There  we  cannot 
come  in.  Those  who  deny  the  substitutionary  and  vicarious 
expiation  of  Christ  are  accustomed  to  quote  this  passage  from 
Peter  and  this  passage  from  Paul  to  show  that  the  suffer- 
ings of  Christ  were  merely  martyr-sufferings,  not  unlike 
Paul's  martyr-sufferings  and  Peter's,  and  serve  merely  as 
an  example  of  patience,  and  that  they  had  no  expiatory 
nature.  It  is  necessary  to  emphasize  this  point  as  to  the 
distinction  between  what  He  did  as  a  vicarious  substitute  for 
sinners  and  the  ordinary  sufferings  of  Christ,  such  as  we  and 
all  of  His  people  participate  in.  He  himself  refers  to  this 
when  He  says,  "If  the  world  hateth  you,  ye  know  that  it 
hath  hated  me  before  it  hated  you.  If  ye  were  of  this  world, 
the  world  would  love  its  own ;  but  because  ye  are  not  of  this 
world,  but  I  chose  you  out  of  the  worTd,  therefore  the  world 
hateth  you.    Remember  the  word  that  I  said  unto  you,  A 


38       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

servant  is  not  greater  than  his  lord.  If  they  persecuted  me, 
they  will  also  persecute  you;  if  they  kept  my  word,  they 
will  keep  yours  also." 

In  verse  26  we  have  a  word  that  needs  explanation.  What 
does  Paul  mean  by  "mystery?"  He  says,  "I  was  made  a 
minister  according  to  the  dispensation  of  God,  which  was 
given  me  to  you- ward,  to  fulfill  the  word  of  God,  even  the 
mystery  which  hath  been  hid  for  ages  and  generations,  but 
now  hath  been  manifested  to  His  saints."  What  is  this 
mystery  ?  He  explains  it  in  the  next  verse :  "To  whom  God 
was  pleased  to  make  known  what  is  the  riches  of  the  glory  of 
this  mystery  among  the  Gentiles."  In  the  Letter  to  the 
Ephesians  he  elaborates  on  that  mystery  this  way :  "Where- 
fore remember  that  once  ye,  the  Gentiles  in  the  flesh,  who 
are  called  Uncircumcision  by  that  which  is  called  Circumci- 
sion, in  the  flesh,  made  by  hands ;  that  ye  were  at  that  time 
separate  from  Christ,  alienated  from  the  commonwealth  of 
Israel,  and  strangers  from  the  covenants  of  the  promise, 
having  no  hope  and  without  God  in  the  world.  But  now  in 
Christ  Jesus  ye  that  once  were  afar  off  are  made  nigh  in  the 
blood  of  Christ.  For  He  is  our  peace,  who  made  both  one, 
and  brake  down  the  middle  wall  of  partition,  having  abolished 
in  His  flesh  the  enmity,  even  the  law  of  commandments  con- 
tained in  ordinances;  that  He  might  create  in  himself  of 
the  two  one  new  man,  so  making  peace ;  and  might  reconcile 
them  both  in  one  body  unto  God  through  the  cross,  having 
slain  the  enmity  thereby :  and  He  came  and  preached  peace 
to  you  that  were  far  off,  and  peace  to  them  that  were  nigh : 
for  through  Him  we  both  have  access  in  one  Spirit  unto  the 
Father.  So  then  ye  are  no  more  strangers  and  sojourners, 
but  ye  are  fellow  citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the  house- 
hold of  God." 

The  mystery  then  was  this — that  in  the  beginning  of  the 
human  race  God  had  purposed  not  to  make  any  discrimina- 
tion between  people,  and  salvation  was  to  be  as  free  to  one 


CHRIST  AND  THE  FATHER  09 

nation  as  to  another,  and  that  in  electing  the  Jews  and  isolat- 
ing them  from  all  other  people,  it  was  not  done  because  they 
were  better  than  other  people,  nor  was  it  done  to  confer 
special  grace  upon  them,  but  simply  to  make  them  the  deposi- 
tory of  His  truth  for  the  time  being,  which  in  the  fulness 
of  time  would  include  all  the  human  race.  This  is  the  mys- 
tery. But  the  Jews  supposed  that  God  was  partial  to  them — 
that  they  were  not  merely  the  custodians  of  revelation  for 
all  mankind,  but  that  between  them  and  the  Gentiles  there 
was  a  wall  that  could  not  be  broken  down.  They  would 
stand  up  on  that  wall,  glorying  in  their  sanctity,  and  saying 
to  outsiders,  "You  dogs !  Don't  touch  me !  I  am  holier  than 
you!"  They  carried  that  so  far  that  they  would  go  home 
from  the  crowded  streets,  immerse  themselves  and  wash  their 
clothes  to  remove  possible  defilement  by  contact  with  a 
Gentile.  Paul  does  not  use  the  word,  "mystery,"  in  the  sense 
that  what  he  now  reveals  is  mysterious,  but  that  his  revela- 
tion makes  clear  what  was  once  a  mystery — that  the  pur- 
pose of  grace  for  the  whole  human  race  was  veiled  in 
the  Old  Testament  times  but  unveiled  in  New  Testament 
times. 

So  John,  in  Revelation,  talking  about  the  scarlet  woman, 
says  that  she  is  "mystery,"  meaning  that  for  the  time  being 
the  truth  was  veiled  under  a  symbol.  The  symbol  was  a 
woman  dressed  in  scarlet,  sitting  upon  a  beast.  All  Bible 
critics  confront  the  question.  What  is  the  meaning  of  "mys- 
tery" in  the  New  Testament  ?  It  has  several  meanings.  The 
context  determines  in  each  case.  Paul  in  a  letter  to  Timothy 
says,  "Confessedly,  great  is  the  mystery  of  godliness,"  and 
then  gives  all  the  elements  of  that  mystery  of  godliness, 
commencing,  "God  made  manifest  in  the  flesh." 

In  Col.  2 :  2  he  says,  "That  their  hearts  may  be  comforted, 
they  being  knit  together  in  love  and  unto  all  riches  of  the 
full  assurance  of  understanding,  that  they  may  know  the 
mystery  of  God,  even  Christ."    The  idea  is  that  God,  out  of 


40       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

Christ,  is  a  mystery,  unknowable,.but  in  Christ  He  is  declared 
and  the  mystery  solved. 

Consider  also  that  word,  "assurance."  We  have  three 
examples  of  its  use:  We  have  faith  and  the  assurance  of 
faith.  We  have  hope  and  the  assurance  of  hope.  We  have 
understanding  and  the  assurance  of  understanding.  There 
is  a  distinction  between  a  man's  simple  faith  in  Christ  and 
the  assurance  of  that  faith.  Faith,  hope  and  understanding 
are  all  objective,  in  that  they  go  out  of  us  and  take  hold  of  an 
external  object.  But  assurance  is  subjective.  It  does  not 
raise  a  question  concerning  the  merits  of  the  object  of  faith, 
but  rather  the  question,  Do  I  really  believe?  So  with  hope 
and  understanding.  Hope  looks  to  certain  things  reserved 
in  heaven;  assurance  of  hope  is  a  kind  of  certificate  to  a 
person  that  thoroughly  satisfies  him  that  his  hopes  are  well 
grounded. 

These  Gentiles  did  not  understand  that  the  gate  of  salva- 
tion was  to  be  just  as  wide  open  to  them  as  to  the  Jews. 
When  they  took  hold  of  it  they  took  hold  of  it  timidly.  So 
Paul  says,  "I  want  you  to  get  full  assurance  of  understand- 
ing that  you  are  entitled  to  this — that  God  meant  you  just  as 
much  as  he  meant  a  Jew."  We  see  that  if  the  Gentiles  could 
reach  full  assurance  of  understanding  that  they  were  entitled 
to  salvation  under  the  same  law  and  the  same  terms  as  the 
Jew,  then  Judaizing  teachers  could  not  subvert  them,  could 
not  shake  them  by  saying,  "You  must  be  circumcised  in  order 
to  be  saved."  The  reply  would  be,  "I  have  an  understanding 
of  that  matter,  and  I  have  full  assurance  of  the  understand- 
ing, and  I  know  that  I  do  not  have  to  become  a  Jew  in  order 
to  be  saved." 

So  Paul  continues  in  2:4:  "This  I  say  that  no  one  may 
delude  you  with  persuasive  speech."  That  is  exactly  what 
was  taking  place  there.  There  was  a  false  teacher  in  Colosse 
who  was  endeavoring  to  make  proselytes  to  his  philosophy, 
and  one  part  of  that  philosophy  was  that  they  must  observe 


CHRIST  AND  THE  FATHER  41 

all  Sabbatic  rituals,  whether  the  seventh-day  Sabbath, 
monthly  Sabbath  or  annual  Sabbath.  That  is  precisely  the 
point  that  this  false  teacher  was  trying  to  make.  Paul  says 
to  these  Gentiles,  "I  have  a  deep  concern  for  you,  and  I  want 
to  lead  you  into  a  clear  practical  understanding  of  this  gospel, 
lest  somebody  come  and  delude  you  with  persuasive  speech." 

In  verse  6  we  have  another  variation  of  the  same  thought : 
"As  therefore  ye  received  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  so  walk  in 
Him."  In  other  words,  "You  received  Him  by  simple  faith, 
without  conformity  to  Jewish  ritual ;  continue  as  you  com- 
menced." Compare  Gal.  3:  1-3,  "O  foolish  Galatians,  who 
did  bewitch  you,  before  whose  eyes  Jesus  Christ  was  openly 
set  forth  crucified?  This  only  would  I  learn  from  you: 
Received  ye  the  Spirit  by  the  works  of  the  law,  or  by  the 
hearing  of  faith?  Are  ye  so  foolish?  Having  begun  in  the 
Spirit,  are  ye  now  perfected  in  the  flesh?" 

He  continues  the  assurance-thought :  "Rooted  and  builded 
up  in  Him  and  established  in  your  faith,  even  as  ye  were 
taught."  Those  three  words,  "rooted,"  "builded  up"  and 
"established"  contain  the  thought  he  was  trying  to  impress : 
"I  want  you  to  be  so  well  indoctrinated  that  you  cannot  be 
turned  aside  by  specious  error." 

The  same  thought  prevails  in  his  Letter  to  the  Ephesians 
in  his  prayer,  3:4-19:  "For  this  cause  I  bow  my  knees  unto 
the  Father,  from  whom  every  family  in  heaven  and  on  earth 
is  named,  that  He  would  grant  you,  according  to  the  riches 
of  His  glory,  that  ye  may  be  strengthened  with  power  through 
His  Spirit  in  the  inward  man ;  that  Christ  may  dwell  in  your 
hearts  through  faith;  to  the  end  that  ye,  being  rooted  and 
grounded  in  love,  may  be  strong  to  apprehend  with  all  the 
saints  what  is  the  breadth  and  length  and  height  and  depth, 
and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ  which  passeth  knowledge, 
that  ye  may  be  filled  unto  all  the  fulness  of  God."  That  is 
one  of  the  greatest  troubles  with  modern  churches.  They  no 
longer  emphasize  doctrine.    We  would  be  amazed  if  we  were 


43       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

to  call  up  our  entire  church  membership,  and  as  each  one 
comes  up  begin  to  catechise  to  see  if  every  member  was 
thoroughly  indoctrinated  in  the  faith  once  for  all  delivered 
to  the  saints.  Many  of  them  cannot  discriminate  between 
one  denomination  and  another — ^between  justification  and 
sanctification.  Herein  the  Presbyterians  excel  the  Baptists — 
in  the  use  of  the  catechism. 

Where  a  church  has  been  faithfully  ministered  unto  by  a 
pastor  who  selects,  not  high  sounding  texts  whose  mere  sound 
led  him  to  the  selection,  but  who  has  from  his  deliberate  con- 
viction preached  from  the  themes  that  they  needed  for  their 
rooting  and  grounding  and  establishment  in  faith,  that  man 
will  have  an  indoctrinated  church.  But  there  is  a  class  of 
wishy-washy,  "milk  and  cider"  preachers  who  would  rather 
say  it  does  not  make  any  difference  v/hat  one  believes  if  the 
heart  is  all  right ;  it  does  not  make  any  difference  how  he  is 
baptized ;  they  do  not  care  whether  he  is  a  member  of  the 
church  or  not.  That  class  of  preachers  raise  up  congrega- 
tions to  become  the  prey  of  any  evangelical  tramp  or  crank. 
Such  an  ill-trained  congregation  does  not  make  even  good 
militia,  much  less  veteran  soldiers. 

To  illustrate:  Recently  a  Boston  Baptist  preacher,  mod- 
erator of  an  association,  published  in  "The  Baptist  Watch- 
man" a  full  four-page  article  that  would  degenerate  a 
vertebrate  into  a  jelly-fish.  He  denies  that  baptism  is  a 
prerequisite  to  church  membership,  denies  that  a  church  has 
anything  whatever  to  do  with  receiving  members  or  judging 
of  their  qualifications,  affirms  that  when  a  man  believes  it 
automatically  makes  him  a  member  of  the  church,  prefers 
to  make  baptism  essential  to  salvation  rather  than  essential 
to  church  membership.  In  a  word,  the  whole  article  is  made 
up  of  "airy  nothings"  without  a  stalwart  thought  in  it.  The 
wonder  is  how  that  man  ever  got  into  a  Baptist  church.  It 
must  have  been  automatically,  for  no  true  Baptist  church,  if 
it  had  been  consulted,  would  have  received  him. 


CHRIST  AND  THE  FATHER  43 

To  illustrate  again :  One  day  a  man  called  at  my  house  who 
denied  that  a  church  was  either  an  assembly  or  an  organiza- 
tion at  all,  saying  that  it  was  merely  a  living  community. 
God  help  us  when  such  jelly-fish  views  about  the  church  are 
taught  by  those  in  authority ! 

Two  parts  of  this  letter  are  of  transcendently  great  impor- 
tance. One  is  the  doctrine  and  the  other  is  this  part — the 
fourth  item  of  the  analysis.  Let  us  look  at  what  the  analysis 
says: 

Polemics  Against  the  False  Teacher  and  Teachings  at 
Colosse,  2:8-3: 17. 

(a)  As  limiting  by  a  false  philosophy  the  sufficiency  of 
Christ  and  their  completeness  in  Him. 

(b)  Polemics  against  the  folly  of  this  philosophy  in 
accounting  for  creation,  and  in  defining  sin,  and  in  the  insuffi- 
ciency of  its  means  for  conquest  of  sin,  such  as  ( i )  a  Phar- 
isaic observance  of  an  obsolete  Sabbatic  ritual,  (2)  a  self- 
imposed  humility,  (3)  the  worship  of  angels,  supposed  to  be 
emanations  from  God,  himself  unknowable,  (4)  a  bondage 
to  impracticable  ascetic  precepts  based  on  the  idea  that  sin 
resides  in  matter,  which  precepts  were  but  expressions  of 
will-worship  and  powerless  to  hedge  against  temptation  or 
to  subdue  the  passions,  or  to  supply  objects  high  enough  to 
incite  to  love-motives. 

(c)  Against  its  substitution  of  a  mystic  knowledge 
("gnosis")  as  a  standard  instead  of  the  gospel,  2 :  16-23. 

(d)  But  the  gospel  on  the  other  hand  raises  us  with  Christ 
and  makes  us  sharers  of  His  life  and  exaltation,  supplies  us 
with  heavenly  objects  of  thought  and  desire,  and  pledges  our 
manifestation  in  glory  with  Christ,  3:1-4. 

(e)  It  shows  sin  to  be  an  awful  nature  called  the  "old 
man,"  resident  in  mind,  not  matter,  and  expresses  itself  in 
fornication,  uncleanness,  passion,  evil  desire,  covetousness, 
anger,  wrath,  malice,  railing,  shameful  speaking,  3 :  5-9. 

(f )  It  provides  for  the  real  conquest  of  sin  by  regenera- 


44       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

tion,  puts  off  the  old  man  and  puts  on  the  new  man,  a  re-cre- 
ation after  the  huage  of  God,  expressing  itself  in  a  heart 
of  compassion,  kindness,  lowliness,  meekness,  forbearance, 
forgiveness,  love,  and  by  the  sanctifying  instrumentality  of 
God's  Word,  and  by  spiritual  worship,  in  teaching,  prayer, 
and  song,  and  by  supplying  the  dominant  motives  in  all 
word,  deed  or  thought,  the  glory  of  God,  3:  10-17. 

(g)  It  glorifies  in  Christ  all  races,  nations,  social  castes, 

3:11. 

There  was  a  false  teacher,  not  teachers — it  was  one  person. 
We  do  not  know  who,  but  there  was  one  prominent  man 
there  in  the  Lycus  valley  who  possessed  and  held  this  false 
philosophy.  This  philosophy  was  partly  Pharisaic  in  its 
adherence  to  the  Sabbatic  ritual,  and  partly  of  the  Essenes 
in  its  ascetic  teaching.  This  philosophy  held  that  the  world 
was  not  created  by  God,  because  God  is  unknowable  and  can- 
not touch  man  and  things,  but  that  it  was  created  by  emana- 
tions from  God — eons — and  therefore,  instead  of  worship- 
ing God,  they  worshiped  eons,  or  angels.  They  said  that 
they  should  not  worship  God  because  they  could  not  know 
Him.  They  worshiped  intermediate  beings  that  came  in 
touch  with  them. 

Then  this  philosophy  taught  that  as  sin  resided  in  matter, 
the  way  to  conquer  it  was  by  conformity  to  ascetic  precepts — 
that  one  should  retire  from  the  world,  live  like  the  Essenes 
in  a  cave  on  the  border  of  the  Dead  Sea,  not  marry,  have  just 
as  few  clothes  as  possible,  all  the  time  working  on  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  body,  because  there  is  where  sin  resides,  since  the 
soul  is  all  right.  That  was  one  phase  of  the  philosophy. 
Paul  was  combating  that,  as  shown  in  his  doctrines :  Christ 
in  His  relation  to  the  Father,  the  universe  and  its  intelli- 
gences, and  that  by  Him,  in  Him,  and  unto  Him  was  creation, 
and  that  He  was  before  all  things,  and  in  His  relation  to  the 
church. 

With  reference  to  sin,  notice  what  things  he  enumerates 


CHRIST  AND  THE  FATHER  45 

as  expressions  of  sin,  and  see  whether  it  be  of  the  body: 
"Evil  desire,  covetousness,  anger,  wrath,  maHce,  raiHng, 
lying,  shameful  speaking  out  of  your  mouth."  Some  of 
these  are  overt  acts,  but  sin,  according  to  that  teaching, 
resides  in  the  soul  and  not  in  the  body.  The  body  is  merely 
used  as  an  instrument  in  a  great  many  sins,  but  sin  does  not 
reside  in  the  body.  To  show  further  how  Paul  was  con- 
troverting this  philosophy  as  to  the  nature  of  sin,  he  calls 
it  the  old  man,  the  old  Adam.  How  then  is  sin  to  be  con- 
quered ?  It  is  to  be  conquered  by  something  that  will  change 
the  nature — that  will  put  off  the  old  man  and  put  on  the  new 
man.  That  is  regeneration,  and  then  follows  a  sanctifying 
power  that  will  carry  on  the  regenerating  work,  so  that 
instead  of  the  deeds  of  the  old  man  like  anger,  wrath, 
malice,  etc.,  we  put  on  the  deeds  of  the  new  man,  like  love, 
kindness,  a  heart  of  compassion,  forbearance  and  forgive- 
ness. Then  he  goes  on  to  show  what  instrumentalities  are 
necessary  to  bring  this  about :  "Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell 
in  you  richly."  So  we  see  the  difference  between  the  two 
philosophies  in  question. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  State  the  Hardshell  contention  based  on  the  King  James  ver- 
sion of  Col.  1 :  23,  and  reply  to  it. 

2.  What  the  difference  between  the  "to  whom"  Paul  is  writing 
and  the  "to  whom"  Peter  later  writes  ? 

3.  Expound  1 :  24,  "I  fill  up  on  my  part  that  which  is  lacking  of 
the  afflictions  of  Christ,"  and  show  Dr.  Gordon's  interpretation. 

4.  What  the  meaning  of  "mystery"  in  i :  25  and  elsewhere  by 
Paul,  does  it  mean  the  same  thing  when  used  by  the  Synoptic 
Gospels  and  by  John  in  Revelation,  and  does  it  mean  the  same 
thing  when  used  in  the  classics  and  by  modern  secret  societies? 

5.  Expound  the  word,  "assurance,"  in  Col.  2 : 2,  distinguish  be- 
tween "knowledge"  and  the  "assurance  of  knowledge,"  between 
"faith"  and  the  "assurance  of  faith,"  between  "hope"  and  the 
"assurance  of  hope,"  and  apply  the  context  showing  the  value  of 
the  "assurance  of  knowledge." 

6.  Show  the  variation  of  the  same  thought  in  verses  6  and  7. 

7.  What  similar  expressions  in  Eph.  3,  and  what  the  applica- 
tion there? 


46       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

8.  What  defect  in  many  Baptist  churches,  what  the  kind  of 
preachers  that  promote  it,  and  wherein  do  Presbyterians  excel  us 
at  this  point? 

9.  Illustrate  by  the  article  in  "The  Baptist  Watchman"  and  by 
a  modern  definition  of  the  word,  "church." 

10.  What  the  two  very  important  parts  of  this  letter,  and  what  a 
brief  summary  of  the  second  as  indicated  in  the  analysis  and  the 
brief  discussion  which  follows? 


HUMAN  PHILOSOPHY  VERSUS  THE  ENDURING 
GOSPEL  OF  CHRIST 

Scripture:  Col.  2:8 — 3: 17 

THIS  chapter  continues  the  exposition  of  Colossians. 
While  on  broad  general  lines,  the  main  teaching-part 
of  the  letter  has  already  been  considered,  we  need  to 
examine  somewhat  in  detail  certain  words  and  phrases  in 
the  long  paragraph  commencing  2 :  8  and  ending  3:17.  In 
2 : 8  "spoil"  has  the  sense  of  captives — "make  you  a  spoil," 
and  in  the  same  verse,  on  the  word  "philosophy,"  note — 

1.  The  derivation  of  the  word — literally  "a  love  of  wis- 
dom," i.  e.,  human  wisdom,  or  reasonings,  in  accounting  for 
things,  as  opposed  to  divine  revelation  in  accounting  for 
things. 

2.  The  province  of  philosophy.  Certain  matters  come 
legitimately  within  the  realm  of  human  philosophy  upon 
which  its  reasonings  and  even  its  working  suppositions  may 
be  heard  tentatively,  its  conclusions,  or  hypotheses,  con- 
tinually subject  to  modification  as  investigation  affords  new 
light. 

But  certain  other  matters  are  entirely  outside  its  realm, 
e.  g.,  whatever  is  supernatural  cannot  be  settled  by  natural 
reasonings. 

Whatever  touches  ultimate  origin  and  destiny  lies  entirely 
outside  the  realm  of  human  science,  and  hence  when  human 
philosophy  attempts  to  settle  matters  beyond  the  reach  of 
human  science  it  becomes  mere  speculation.  Its  dogmatic 
claims  are,  as  the  apostle  here  puts  it,  "vain  deceit"    All  its 

4a 


48       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

voluminous,  varied  and  contradictory  literature  upon  these 
subjects  from  the  beginning  of  time  till  this  hour  is  as  value- 
less  as  the  "airy  nothings''  of  a  dream.  If  every  book  of  it 
were  burned  today  in  one  huge  bonfire,  as  were  the  magical 
hooks  of  the  Ephesians,  the  world  would  be  better  off. 

The  only  light  in  it  all  is  the  light  of  its  burning.  See 
I  Cor.  I :  i8;  2:  i6. 

Do  not  understand  me  to  deny  all  legitimate  scope  to 
human  philosophy.  Within  bounds  it  has  a  great  place,  but 
even  in  that  place  its  value  may  be  greatly  overestimated. 

/  am  quite  sure  that  more  than  half  of  the  matter  in  the 
text-books  on  philosophy  in  all  our  schools,  colleges  and  uni- 
versities is  the  most  worthless  rubbish,  and  some  of  it  rank 
poison. 

I  am  not  talking  of  science.  A  man  who  denies  the  value 
of  science — real  science — rails  at  God's  appointed  method 
by  which  man  is  commanded  to  subdue  the  earth  and  lay 
under  tribute  all  nature's  potentialities.  The  predicate  for 
all  schools  of  human  learning  is  God's  dower  of  authority  to 
man  over  land  and  sea  and  sky,  and  his  commission  to  subdue 
the  earth.  Here  in  the  natural  world  human  philosophy  is 
the  avant-courier  and  handmaid  of  science.  It  supposes,  it 
experiments,  it  makes  myriads  of  tentative  explorations 
and  flights,  shedding  off  the  failures,  utilizing  and  improv- 
ing the  successes,  and  thus  ever  contributing  to  the  enlarge- 
ment of  science. 

Philosophy  becomes  a  fool  only  when  it  invades  the  realm 
of  ultimate  origins,  destinies  and  the  supernatural.  Here 
it  is  vainer  than  a  peacock,  and  blinder  than  a  mole,  which, 
burrowing  under  the  earth,  is  a  fine  judge  of  earthworms,\ 
but' utterly  incompetent  to  become  a  critic  of  landscapes,  sky- 
views  and  ocean-wonders. 

"Ne  siitor  ultra  crepidam.'*  On  these  matters  all  God's 
treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge  are  stored  up  in  Christ, 
who  is  the  only  revelator  of  God's  hidden  things.    A  human 


THE  GOSPEL  VS.  PHILOSOPHY  49 

philosophy  which,  leaving  out  God  (deifying  instead,  Chance 
or  Fate),  leaving  out  man's  highest  nature  and  highest  rela- 
tions, leaving  out  distinction  between  matter  and  spirit, 
attempts  a  scheme  of  the  universe  and  the  related  human 
life — ^perpetrates  a  folly  unworthy  of  preservation  in  human 
literature.    Observe  next  in  2:8, 

3.  "After  the  tradition  of  men."  "Tradition,"  that  which 
is  handed  down — transmitted  from  father  to  son,  or  from  one 
generation  to  another — may  be  either  good  or  bad  according 
to  its  origin  or  subject  matter.  In  the  New  Testament  the 
word  is  accordingly  used  sometimes  in  a  good  sense,  some- 
times in  a  bad  sense.  Paul  commands  Timothy  to  pass  on 
to  other  good  men  the  deposit  of  good  doctrine  which  he 
had  received  from  Paul.  If  the  original  matter  be  a  revela- 
tion from  God,  it  does  not  cease  to  be  good  because  "handed 
down,"  provided  only  it  be  held  sacredly  intact  and  trans- 
mitted unimpaired.  The  supreme  test  of  an  oral  "tradition" 
is  its  conformity  with  the  word  written.  The  Pharisees  made 
void  the  written  Word  of  God  with  Rabbinical  traditions. 
And  so  tradition  in  the  early  Christian  centuries  began  that 
undermining  of  the  simplicity  of  the  written  gospel  which 
culminates  in  our  day  into  that  which  is  another  gospel  or 
no  gospel. 

The  context,  verses  11  to  18,  indicates  that  "the  traditions 
of  men"  here  rebuked  by  the  apostle  is  a  Jewish  element 
of  Gnosticism  rather  than  heathen,  because  these  traditions 
are  in  the  same  verse  said  to  be  "after  the  rudiments  of  the 
world"  and  not  "after  Christ."  But  what  is  meant  here  by 
"rudiments?"  In  a  general  way  "rudiments"  means  what 
is  elemental — ^thc  first  principles.  Of  course,  "rudiments  of 
the  world"  may  mean  worldly  first  principles,  referring  to 
mere  human  origin,  but  this  hardly  accords  with  the  New 
Testament  usage  of  the  word,  "rudiments,"  or  with  the  imme- 
diate context  The  rudiments  of  revelation  were  the  types, 
shadows  and  ritual  of  the  Old  Testament.    It  was  character- 


50       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

istic  of  the  Jew  in  the  time  of  our  Lord,  and  is  so  even  now, 
that  he  went  not  beyond  these  rudiments.  He  would  not 
see  in  Christ  the  substance  of  these  shadows,  so  he  never 
went  on  to  maturity. 

Moreover,  by  their  traditions  they  corrupted  and  dis- 
torted even  the  shadows.  This  corruption  might  appear  in 
stressing  the  letter  which  killeth  against  the  Spirit  which 
maketh  alive.  Or  by  their  endless  elaborations,  interpreta- 
tions, emendations,  infinite  trifling  details  they  might  con- 
vert the  law  into  a  burdensome  yoke  impossible  to  be  borne. 
Or  by  merely  human  speculation  on  the  fact  that  the  law  was 
given  by  "the  disposition  of  angels"  they  might  merge  Jewish 
speculation  into  the  heathen  element  of  Gnosticism,  a  creation 
by  eons — graded  emanations  from  God.  To  meet  which 
Paul  presents  Jesus  as  having  in  himself  "all  the  fulness  of 
the  Godhead  bodily."  Let  the  reader  particularly  note  the 
force  of  this  expression,  perhaps  the  strongest  in  the  New 
Testament. 

Observe  (i)  "Godhead."  The  Greek,  fheotes,  means 
"deity" — not  the  weaker  word,  "divinity,"  the  natural  force 
of  which  may  be  evaded,  or  shaded  down.  The  expression 
is  even  stronger  than  John's  "The  Word  was  God  (Theos)/* 

Observe  (2)  "fulness,"  not  in  part  nor  in  certain  direc- 
tions, but  "all  the  fulness  of  Deity." 

Observe  (3)  "bodily  (somatikos),  i.  e.,  "bodily-wise."  The 
word  is  carefully  chosen.  Here  Lightfoot  speaks  to  the 
point :  "It  is  not  'in  a  body*  for  Deity  cannot  be  so  confined. 
It  is  not  'in  the  form  of  a  body'  for  this  might  suggest  the 
unreality  of  Christ's  human  body,  but  'bodily*  i.  e.,  bodily- 
wise,  or  with  a  bodily  manifestation." 

Observe  (4)  "dwells  (katoikei):  "In  Him  dwells  all  the 
fulness  (pleroma)  of  Deity  bodily,"  as  just  before,  in  con- 
trast with  their  vain  deceit,  their  philosophy,  he  has  affirmed 
that  in  Christ  "all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  [sophia]  and  of 
knowledge  [gnosis]  are  stored,"  2:3. 


THE  GOSPEL  VS.  PHILOSOPHY  51 

Observe  (5)  "And  ye,  in  Him,  are  complete/'  i.  e.,  filled 
full  (pepleromenoi).  Being  in  union  with  Christ,  there  is  no 
need  to  seek  from  human  sources  a  wisdom,  a  knowledge,  a 
philosophy,  on  the  matters  stated. 

Observe  (6)  Instead  of  Christ  being  a  low  grade  eon,  or 
emanation  from  God — a  subordinate  angel — "He  is  the  head 
of  all  principality  and  authority" — Greek,  he  Kephale  pases 
arches  kai  exousias.  He  then  goes  on  to  show  that  in  being 
united  to  Christ  they  received  the  real,  or  spiritual  circum- 
cision, and  their  baptism  was  in  a  figure  both  a  burial  and  a 
resurrection  with  Christ.  In  other  words,  the  antitype  of 
circumcision  is  regeneration,  and  baptism  symbolizes  Christ's 
burial  and  resurrection  and  pledges  our  own.  He  then 
reaches  his  true  climax  in  a  double  direction : 

1.  That  in  His  death  on  the  cross  He  fulfilled,  cancelled 
and  abrogated  all  the  Old  Testament  economy — took  it 
entirely  out  of  the  way — took  it  forever  away. 

2.  That  on  the  cross  He  not  only  conquered,  but  made  an 
open  show  of  Satan  and  all  his  demons. 

Here  he  follows  the  imagery  of  a  Roman  triumphal  pro- 
cession, accorded  to  their  conquering  generals,  dragging  cap- 
tive princes  in  their  train.  (See  the  author's  sermon  on  the 
"Three  Hours  of  Darkness.")  He  came  in  triumph,  by 
resurrection  and  ascension,  after  the  battle  on  the  cross,  not 
to  imperial  Rome,  but  to  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  the  city  of 
God,  shouting, 

"Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates, 
And  be  ye  lifted  up,  ye  everlasting  doors, 
And  let  the  King  of  Glory  come  in." 

"When  He  ascended  up  on  high  He  led  captivity  captive," 
i.  e.f  He  broke  all  the  chains  of  bondage  which  Satan  had 
bound  on  men,  redeeming  the  captives  of  the  terrible  one, 
and  He  gave  as  largess  the  outpoured  Holy  Spirit  with  all 
His  varied  gifts  to  men.  Truly  that  was  "the  crisis  of  this 
world" 


5^       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

Let  not  the  reader  fail  to  note  the  apostle's  conclusions 
from  this  victory  on  the  cross : 

1.  Let  no  man  judge  you  in  meat  and  drink  according  to 
the  Mosaic  distinctions  betwen  the  clean  and  unclean.  That 
distinction  is  abrogated.  > 

2.  Let  no  man  judge  you  on  any  part  of  the  Sabbatic  cycle, 
either  the  Seventh-day  Sabbath,  the  lunar  Sabbath,  the 
three  great  annual  Sabbaths,  the  land  Sabbath  or  the  Jubilee 
Sabbath.  They  were  all  shadows;  the  body  is  of  Christ. 
The  whole  old  covenant  with  its  sacrifices,  types,  ritual  and 
priesthood,  has  passed  away.  This  passage  is  the  death-blow 
to  all  sects  which  observe  the  Seventh-day  Sabbath.  They 
are  either  Jews  on  this  point  or  merely  keepers  of  a  Sabbath 
which  commemorates  creation.  Yet  when  we  come  to  con- 
sider the  more  elaborate  arguments  in  the  Letter  to  the 
Hebrews,  written  a  little  later,  we  will  find  that  "there 
remaineth  to  the  people  of  God  a  Sabbath-keeping'*  (Sab- 
hatismos)  which  commemorates  not  rest  from  creation  nor 
deliverance  from  Egypt,  but  our  Lord's  rest  after  His  greater 
work  of  redemption. 

3.  Let  no  man  seek  to  impose  on  you  circumcision  of  the 
flesh.    Ye  are  regenerated,  having  the  spiritual  circumcision. 

4.  Let  him  not  judge  as  one  of  the  Essenes,  trying  to  kill 
sin  by  afflicting  the  body,  saying,  "handle  not,  taste  not, 
touch  not"  this  or  that.  All  their  minute  rules,  all  their 
asceticism,  all  their  abjurement  of  marriage,  all  their  retire- 
ment from  the  world  into  caves,  nunneries  or  monasteries, 
all  their  regimen  of  diet  and  scourging  of  the  body  is  mere 
will-worship  and  availeth  nothing  toward  shutting  out  temp- 
tations. Allurement,  lust,  passion,  envy,  jealousy,  malice 
and  covetousness,  that  run  riot  in  the  world,  will  find  a  man 
in  his  seclusion.  Walls  of  brick  and  stone  cannot  shut  out 
human  passion.  God  meant  for  us  to  live  in  the  world,  but 
not  to  be  of  the  world.  "I  pray  not  that  they  may  be  taken 
out  of  the  world,  but  that  they  may  be  kept  from  the  evil 


THE  GOSPEL  VS.  PHILOSOPHY  6S 

one,"  says  our  Lord.  The  true  remedy  is  to  set  our  affec- 
tions on  things  above,  where  our  citizenship  is.  Let  the 
expulsive  power  of  new  affections  drive  the  old  loves  out 
of  the  heart.  Put  off  the  old  man  and  put  on  the  new  man, 
which,  after  God,  is  recreated  unto  knowledge,  righteous- 
ness and  true  holiness.  Let  the  reader  note  that  chapter  3:11 
of  this  letter  and  Eph.  4 :  24,  both  allude  to  man's  original 
creation  in  the  image  of  God,  and  this  image  involved 
"knowledge"  (epignosis),  "righteousness"  (dikaiosune)  and 
"holiness  of  truth"  (hosioteti  tes  aletheias). 

5.  Where  there  cannot  be  Greek  and  Jew,  circumcision 
and  uncircumcision,  barbarian,  Scythian,  bondmen,  freemen, 
but  Christ  is  all  and  in  all. 

These  five  conclusions  from  Christ's  work  on  the  cross 
constitute  a  priceless  heritage,  ever  to  be  most  jealously 
guarded.    They  are  summed  up  as  follows : 

1.  The  distinctions  between  clean  and  unclean  meats  and 
drinks  is  forever  obliterated. 

2.  The  creation-Sabbath  and  all  the  cycle  of  Jewish  Sab- 
baths are  superseded. 

3.  Circumcision  of  the  flesh,  distinguishing  Jew  from 
Gentile,  is  abrogated. 

4.  Asceticism  and  seclusion  from  the  world  as  a  preventive 
of  temptation  and  passion  is  valueless. 

5.  Distinctions  of  race,  caste,  society,  slavery  and  freedom, 
civilization  and  barbarism,  culture  and  ignorance,  are  all 
impossible  in  Christ.  He  died  for  man,  as  man.  Regenera- 
tion, or  the  new  creation,  ignores  all  artificial  distinctions. 
There  will  never  be  a  kingdom  of  Jesus  over  Jews,  as  Jews. 
There  will  never  be  a  restoration  of  the  Jewish  polity.  It 
would  be  a  horrible  anticlimax. 

Christ  was  crucified  because  He  would  not  restore  the 
national  Jewish  polity,  but  established  a  spiritual  kingdom. 

Seventh  Day  Adventism  and  all  pre-millennial  adventism 
representing  Christ  as  coming  to  reign  for  a  thousand  years 


54^      COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

in  a  restored  earthly  Jerusalem  over  a  restored  Jewish  nation, 
with  the  Gentile  world  in  subjugation,  nullify  the  cross  and 
seek  to  rebuild  what  He  there  forever  cast  down. 

Since  the  cross,  and  forever  since  the  cross,  it  will  be 
true — "Where  there  cannot  be  Greek  and  Jew,  circumcision 
and  uncircumcision,  barbarian,  Scythian,  bondmen,  freemen ; 
but  Christ  is  all  and  in  all." 

There  will  be  a  Jerusalem,  the  capital  of  this  world.  But 
it  will  be  the  heavenly  Jerusalem — coming  down  from  God 
out  of  heaven — after  the  general  judgment.  The  Holy 
Spirit  will  infill  it,  according  to  John's  vision,  Rev.  21 :  10-14, 
"The  twelve  gates  were  twelve  pearls ;  each  one  of  the  several 
gates  was  of  one  pearl :  and  the  street  of  the  city  was  pure 
gold,  as  it  were  transparent  glass.  And  1  saw  no  temple 
therein:  for  the  Lord  God  the  Almighty,  and  the  Lamb,  are 
the  temple  thereof.  And  the  city  hath  no  need  of  the  sun, 
neither  of  the  moon,  to  shine  upon  it :  for  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  did  lighten  it,  and  the  lamp  thereof  is  the  Lamb.  And 
the  nations  shall  walk  amidst  the  light  thereof :  and  the  kings 
of  the  earth  bring  their  glory  into  it.  And  the  gates  thereof 
shall  in  no  wise  be  shut  by  day  ( for  there  shall  be  no  night 
there)  :  and  they  shall  bring  the  glory  and  the  honor  of  the 
nations  into  it :  and  there  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  it  any- 
thing unclean,  or  he  that  maketh  an  abomination  and  a  lie : 
but  only  they  that  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life," 
Rev.  21 :  10-14,  22-27. 

There  never  will  be  a  reversion  to  Moses.  The  great 
central  truth  of  the  cross  and  what  it  abrogates,  set  forth 
in  Colossians,  enlarged  in  Ephesians  and  elaborated  in  every 
detail  in  the  Letter  to  the  Hebrews,  makes  an  eternal  break 
with  Judaism,  as  is  fitly  followed  by  the  destruction  0/  Jeru- 
salem and  its  temple  and  the  eternal  cessation  of  its  sacrifices 
and  priesthood.  Therefore  the  author  cannot  bear  the 
thought  that  anyone  should  fail  to  learn  the  lesson  of  Col. 
2: 14, 15.    As  the  Crusaders  failed,  so  will  the  Jewish  Zion- 


THE  GOSPEL  VS.  PHILOSOPHY  55 

ists.  The  tomb  is  empty.  The  sanctity  is  forever  gone  from 
the  earthly  Jerusalem  and  the  land.  Let  Greek  Catholic  and 
Roman  Catholic  have  their  quarrels  over  the  empty  tomb  and 
vacant  temple  site,  regulated  by  Moslem  police.  Our  Lord 
is  not  there;  He  is  risen.  The  Jerusalem  that  now  is 
answereth  to  Mount  Sinai  and  is  in  bondage  with  her  chil- 
dren. The  Jerusalem  that  is  above  is  our  mother,  and 
regeneration  is  our  certificate  of  citizenship.  Heaven  is  our 
Holy  Land.  Let  us  by  illumination,  faith,  hope  and  love 
make  tours  to  that  holy  land.  I  am  far  from  denying  that 
God  overruled  the  Crusades  to  much  reflexive  good.  But 
the  Crusades  themselves,  so  far  as  their  immediate  purpose 
and  hope  are  concerned,  have  no  rivals  in  the  history  o| 
folly. 

I  have  no  desire — 

"To  climb  where  Moses  stood 
And  view  that  landscape  o'er — " 

but  would  prefer  to  be  caught  up  with  Paul  into  the  third 
heaven,  into  the  Paradise  of  God 

"And  view  that  landscape  o'er." 

/  continually  rejoice  that  I  ant  not  coming  unto  the  dark^ 
thunder-rocked,  fire-crested,  smoke-shrouded,  trumpet-riven 
Mountain  of  the  Law,  there  to  quake  and  tremble,  hut  unto 
Mount  Zion,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  unto  God  the  judge, 
unto  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  firstborn,  unto 
the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  unto  Jesus  the  mediator 
of  the  New  Covenant,  unto  the  blood  of  sprinkling  in  the^ 
true  Holy  of  Holies  whose  atoning  efficacy  speaks  better 
things  for  us  than  the  blood  of  AbeVs  typical  animal  sacrifice. 

"Oh !  when,  thou  city  of  my  God, 
Shall  I  thy  courts  ascend?" 

I  have  not  the  temperament  of  the  archaeologist.  I  could 
never  potter  with  Old  Mortality  among  the  tombs  of  men 


56       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

once  heroes,  but  seek  the  company  of  living  heroes.  I  could 
not  be  a  Chinaman  with  his  back  to  the  future,  worshiping 
his  ancestors,  and  am  entirely  without  desire  to  go  East 
except  "by  way  of  the  West."  Campbell's  "Pleasures  of 
Hope"  is  a  greater  book  than  Rogers'  "Pleasures  of  Mem- 
ory." I  lift  my  hat  when  I  hear  Paul  shouting:  "Forgetting 
the  things  that  are  behind  and  reaching  out  to  the  things  that 
are  before  I  press  on  toward  the  goal  of  the  prize  of  the  high 
calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus." 

I  have  been  scornfully  asked,  Why  the  waste  of  the  letters 
to  the  Colossians,  Ephesians  and  Hebrews,  since  Titus  in 
less  than  a  decade  would  obviate  their  necessity  by  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the  Jewish  polity? 

My  answer  was.  Because  he  foresaw  the  great  apostasy 
which,  under  the  guise  of  Christianity,  would  revert  to  the 
Old  Testament  type  and  revive  its  hierarchy,  its  priesthood, 
its  human  mediators,  its  ritual,  its  anointings,  its  genu- 
flexions, commanding  to  abstain  from  meats  and  forbidding 
to  marry,  and  which  would  foist  on  half  the  world  a  blended 
Jewish  and  heathen  system  of  superstition,  tyrannising  over 
the  cradle,  the  grave  and  the  spirit-world,  and  over  govern- 
ments, while  drunk  with  the  blood  of  the  saints. 


QUESTIONS 

1.  What  the  meaning  of  "spoil"  in  2 :  8? 

2.  What  the  derivation  of  the  word,  "philosophy?" 

3.  What  the  province  of  human  philosophy  and  its  value  there? 

4.  Into  what  realm  may  it  not  intrude,  and  what  the  value  of  its 
literature  when  intruding  there  ? 

5.  Into  this  realm  beyond  the  scope  of  human  philosophy,  what, 
according  to  2:3  of  this  letter,  is  the  position  of  our  Lord,  and  how 
does  He  make  known  its  secrets? 

6.  What  the  meaning  of  "tradition"  in  2 : 8,  and  how  is  the  word 
used  in  the  New  Testament? 

7.  What  the  meaning  of  "rudiments"  in  2:8,  and  to  what  does 
the  New  Testament  usage  of  the  word  usually  refer? 

8.  Show  from  the  context  that  a  Jewish  element  of  Gnosticism  is 
under  consideration  here. 


THE  GOSPEL  VS.  PHILOSOPHY  57 

9.    At  what  point  in  the  argument  does  the  Jewish  element  blend 
with  the  heathen  ? 

10.  In  what  great  declaration  concerning  Christ  does  Paul  meet 
the  false  philosophy?     (2:9.) 

11.  Meaning  of  "Godhead"  in  verse  9,  and  how  often  elsewhere 
in  the  New  Testament  does  the  word  occur,  and  compare  its  force 
with  John's  "the  Word  was  God." 

12.  Meaning  of  "bodily,"  and  quote  Lightfoot  on  the  choice  of 
the  word  ? 

13.  Meaning  of  "complete  in  Him?" 

14.  What  the  antitype  of  circumcision,  and  the  relation  of  bap- 
tism thereto  ? 

15.  State  the  great  climax  of  Paul  in  two  directions. 

16.  State  the  five  conclusions  from  his  argument. 

17.  What  the  value  of  the  conclusions  as  a  heritage? 

18.  What  the  effect  as  to  Judaism  of  the  central  truth  of  the  cross 
as  argued  in  Colossians,  Ephesians  and  Hebrews  ? 

19.  Wherein  the  great  error  of  Seventh-Day  Adventism,  and 
most  pre-millennial  teaching? 

20.  What  the  folly  of  the  Crusades  ? 

21.  Will  there  ever  be  a  restored  earthly  Jerusalem,  with  Christ 
as  King  over  the  Jews,  and  Gentiles  in  subjection? 

22.  What  the  Jerusalem  before  the  saints  ? 

23.  Why,  in  view  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  in  less  than  a 
decade,  did  Paul  write  these  prison  letters  to  make  a  final  break  with 
Judaism  ? 


VI 

PRACTICAL  APPLICATIONS  ON  COLOSSIANS 
Scripture:  Col.  3: 18 — ^4: 18 

IN  this  chapter  we  take  up  the  practical  application  of 
this  letter.  From  3:  18  to  4:  i  the  exhortations  relate 
to  the  family  or  home,  and  are  based  on  reciprocal  rela- 
tions. From  relation  arises  obligation.  These  relations  are 
husband  and  wife,  parent  and  child,  master  and  servant. 
The  first  two  relations  are  natural,  the  third  artificial. 

God  himself  created  the  relation  between  husband  and 
wife.  He  made  them  one  in  the  beginning,  himself  per- 
forming the  marriage  ceremony.  Adam  was  first  made. 
Eve  was  derived  from  his  body  and  soul.  Hence  the  name, 
"woman,"  meaning  derived  from  man.  This  marriage  rela- 
tion is  the  basis  of  the  home,  the  family.  It  was  intended 
to  be  indissoluble.  The  New  Testament  permits  only  one 
ground  of  divorce.  The  sanctity  of  the  bond  cannot  be 
maintained  without  regard  to  the  reciprocal  duties.  There 
can  be  but  one  head  to  a  family.  The  husband  is  that  head. 
This  involves  subjection  on  the  part  of  the  wife.  She  must 
honor  and  obey,  but  it  is  not  a  slavish  obedience.  Her  realm 
is  the  home.  She  lives  in  her  husband  and  children.  The 
husband  must  love  his  wife  and  be  not  bitter  towards  her. 
This  thought  is  elaborated  and  illustrated  in  the  accompany- 
ing Letter  to  the  Ephesians.  As  Christ  loved  the  church 
and  gave  himself  for  it,  so  must  husbands  love  their  wives. 
Where  this  great  love  is  extended  by  the  husband  it  is  easy 
for  the  wife  to  honor  and  obey,  and  the  children  born  of 
the  marriage  will  be  an  heritage  of  the  Lord. 

68 


PRACTICAL  APPLICATIONS  59 

Children,  too,  are  in  subjection.  They  must  honor  and 
obey ;  that  is  the  first  commandment  with  a  promise.  This 
honor  and  obedience  must  be  in  letter,  spirit  and  form.  A 
look  or  a  gesture  may  disobey.  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  the  great 
Methodist  commentator,  says  that  his  mother  was  a  Scotch 
Presbyterian,  famous  for  teaching  and  enforcing  family  dis- 
cipline— that  on  one  occasion  when  commanded  by  her  to 
do  an  unpleasant  service,  he  obeyed,  but  looked  disobedient. 
His  mother  caught  the  meaning  of  disrespect  in  his  eye,  and, 
shaking  her  finger  in  his  face,  quoted  the  proverb :  "The 
eye  that  mocketh  at  his  father  and  despiseth  to  obey  his 
mother,  the  ravens  of  the  valley  shall  pick  it  out  and  the 
young  eagles  shall  eat  it."  Her  solemn  denunciation 
impressed  him  much.  Her  words  rang  in  his  ears. 
Walking  out  alone  in  the  woods,  he  was  startled  by  the 
cry  of  a  raven  overhead,  "Caw !  Caw !  Caw !"  His 
mother's  words  burned  in  his  mind  like  fire,  and,  placing 
his  hands  over  his  face,  he  ran  back  home,  crying  out: 
"Oh,  my  eyes,  my  eyes,  let  not  the  ravens  pick  out  my 
eyes  I"  But  the  law  binds  not  the  child  alone.  The  parent 
must  not  provoke  the  child.  Many  a  child  has  become 
discouraged  in  honoring  and  obeying  parents  by  their 
provocations. 

These  exhortations  on  the  sanctity  of  family  ties  were 
very  pertinent  to  the  matter  in  hand.  The  false  philosophy 
prevalent  at  Colosse  discountenanced  marriage  and  the  rais- 
ing of  children,  as  tending  to  sin.  Their  selfish  delusion  was 
that  the  escape  from  sin  was  to  be  found  in  abstinence  from 
marriage  and  retreat  from  social  claims  to  the  solitude  of  a 
cave.  While  a  few  free-lovers  have  denounced  what  they 
call  the  bondage  of  marriage,  and  while  the  trend  of  modern 
society  is  to  multiply  causes  for  divorce,  yet,  on  the  whole, 
the  common  sense  of  mankind  honors  both  the  sacred  insti- 
tution of  marriage  and  the  mutual  laws  governing  marriage 
and  children.    They  respect  the  New  Testament  declaration 


60       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

that  "He  that  provideth  not  for  his  own  hath  denied  the 
faith  and  is  worse  than  an  infidel." 

But  some  over-pious  people  have  taken  great  offense  at 
the  gospel  because  it  does  not  peremptorily  inculcate  the 
abolition  of  slavery,  and  incite  to  servile  insurrection.  They 
greatly  mistake  the  purpose  of  the  gospel.  It  did  not  under- 
take to  be  a  political  and  revolutionary  force.  It  came  to 
serve  religious  ends.  It  would  have  perished  in  the  begin- 
ning if  it  had  pronounced  on  forms  of  political  government 
or  the  legality  of  social  conditions.  Whenever  its  legisla- 
tion touched  a  social  or  political  evil,  it  was  to  ameliorate 
its  harshness,  but  it  relied  mainly  on  the  leavening  power 
of  its  great  principles.  Slavery  abounded  everywhere.  It 
taught  the  slave  God's  care  for  him  and  led  him  into  spiritual 
freedom.  It  taught  him  to  be  honest,  industrious,  conscien- 
tious, as  living  unto  his  Lord.  It  revealed  to  him  that  God, 
unlike  man,  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  and  held  out  for  his 
patient  hope  the  heritage  of  the  world  to  come.  It  laid  a 
restraining  hand  upon  the  Christian  master,  curbing  his  pas- 
sions, enjoining  justice  and  mercy  in  the  treatment  of  the 
slave,  and  called  upon  him  to  remember,  first,  that  he  was 
Christ's  bondman,  and,  second,  that  in  Christ  there  were  no 
distinctions  between  the  bond  and  the  free.  Thus  indirectly, 
by  the  leavening  power  of  its  principles,  it  is  reforming  all 
evils  of  government  and  society,  and  will  ultimately  purge 
the  earth  of  all  wickedness  of  whatever  kind. 

The  exhortations  pass  from  these  social  relations  to  incul- 
cate the  habit  of  thankful  prayer,  suggesting  as  a  special 
object  of  petition  his  own  case.  But  he  solicits  on  his  behalf 
no  selfish  gain,  only  "that  God  may  open  to  him  a  door  for 
the  Word"  and  that  when  it  is  open  he  may  unveil  the  mys- 
tery of  the  gospel  "as  he  ought  to  speak."  These  two  objects 
of  prayer,  repeated  in  the  Letter  to  the  Ephesians,  are  very 
suggestive.  He  conceives  of  prayer  as  able  to  influence  the 
workings  of  Providence,  and  to  influence  the  Spirit's  power 


PRACTICAL  APPLICATIONS  61 

on  his  own  heart.  In  view  of  them,  let  us  take  heed  that 
we  fall  into  no  infidel  attitude  concerning  prayer,  nor  raise 
in  our  minds  the  doubt,  "What  profits  shall  we  have  if  we 
pray  unto  Him?"  They  also  suggest  that  if  an  inspired 
apostle  deeply  felt  the  need  and  longed  for  the  power  of 
the  prayers  of  his  brethren,  how  foolish  in  us  to  discount  so 
valuable  a  service. 

From  devotions  we  pass  to  outward  walk  and  speech. 
"Walk  in  wisdom  before  them  that  are  without."  How 
little  are  Christians  sensible  of  the  fact  that  they  all,  as 
well  as  the  apostles,  are  "a  spectacle  to  the  angels,"  to 
demons,  and  to  men.  What  a  text  for  preachers !  "Them 
that  are  without."  Note  the  frequency  of  the  phrase  and 
its  several  contexts,  for  example,  Mark  4:11;!  Cor.  5 :  13 ; 
I  Tim.  3  :  7.  Indeed  it  is  a  qualification  of  the  preacher  that 
"he  have  a  good  report  of  them  that  are  without."  Apart 
from  the  exact  form  of  the  phrase  are  many  passages  em- 
bodying the  thought  in  other  words.  Moreover,  as  words 
count  as  much  as  conduct  with  "them  that  are  without," 
"let  your  speech  be  always  with  grace  seasoned  with  salt, 
that  ye  may  know  how  ye  ought  to  answer  each  one."  The 
outside  world  bristles  with  interrogation  points  toward  Chris- 
tians and  Christianity.  How  often  we  injure  the  cause  by 
injudicious  answers.  How  closely  Peter  follows  Paul's  lead 
in  this  exhortation :  "Ready  always  to  give  answer  to  every 
man  that  asketh  you  a  reason  concerning  the  hope  that  is  in 
you,  yet  with  meekness  and  fear,"  I  Peter  3:15- 

Concerning  these  exhortations  on  family  duties,  devotions, 
outward  walk  and  speech,  observe,  first,  how  close  the  con- 
nection between  Colossians  and  Ephesians,  and,  second,  how 
uniform  the  teaching  by  all  the  New  Testament  writers  and 
speakers  on  all  these  grave  matters.  Compare,  for  example, 
on  husbands  and  wives,  Paul's  teaching  in  these  prison  letters 
(Col.  3:18,  19 ;  Eph.  5 :  22,  23)  with  Peter's  (I  Peter  2>''7) 
writing  later  to  the  same  people  in  part.    The  letter  refers 


62^       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

them  to  its  bearers,  Tychicus  and  Onesimus,  for  detailed 
information  of  his  state  and  work. 

In  the  salutation  he  distinguished  between  his  Jewish  and 
Gentile  companions  in  labor.  Aristarchus,  Mark  and  Justus 
are  Jewish  Christians,  while  Luke,  Demas  and  Epaphras 
are  Gentiles.  It  is  gratifying  to  note  that  he  takes  pleasure 
in  the  association  and  co-operation  of  Mark.  Evidently  in 
some  way  his  mind  toward  Mark  is  changed  since  his  refusal 
to  let  him  be  a  companion  on  his  second  missionary  tour 
(Acts  15 :  37-40).  We  have  no  evidence  of  the  ground  of 
the  reconciliation,  and  so  cannot  say  whether  Paul  revised 
his  original  judgment,  or  Mark  evinced  repentance  for  his 
former  abandonment. 

In  the  first  letter  from  Peter,  written  a  few  years  later 
from  Babylon  to  these  same  Colossians,  he  reports  that  both 
Silas  and  Mark,  with  others,  are  with  him.  In  the  separa- 
tion Barnabas  took  Mark  and  Paul  took  Silas.  Peter  has 
fallen  heir  to  both  of  the  companions  on  that  divided  second 
missionary  tour.  We  learn  in  these  salutations  that  Luke 
was  a  physician,  which  many  terms  of  his  writings  indicate, 
and  that  Epaphras  was  an  evangelist  who  probably  planted 
the  three  churches  of  the  Lycus  valley — Colosse,  Hierapolis 
and  Laodicea. 

In  his  second  imprisonment  at  Rome  we  find  Paul  com- 
plaining that  the  Demas  he  here  commends  had  forsaken 
him,  having  loved  this  present  world  (II  Tim.  4:  10).  And 
what  a  difference  in  his  own  salutation  when  II  Timothy 
is  written!  Only  Luke  is  with  him.  He  urges  Timothy 
to  come  and  bring  Mark.  Tychicus  had  been  sent  to 
Ephesus. 

In  his  directions  we  find  a  household  church  in  Hierapolis 
as  well  as  in  Colosse.  We  find  more  than  one  of  these 
churches  in  Rome.  Doubtless  these  churches  in  private 
homes  came  about  from  the  fact  that  they  had  no  public 
meeting  house  for  all  the  churches  in  a  city,  and  services 


PRACTICAL  APPLICATIONS  63 

were  held  in  the  home  of  some  leading  brother  or  sister  who 
could  afford  the  most  room. 

The  number  of  these  churches  in  one  city  is  a  disproof  of 
the  now  current  theory  that  in  apostolic  times  all  Christians 
of  a  metropolis  were  in  one  church  organization,  presided, 
over  by  a  leading  bishop,  with  subordinate  bishops  supplying 
the  various  sub  congregations,  assembling  in  different  parts 
of  the  city. 

As  bearing  upon  this  point  Rev.  W.  T.  Whitley,  in  deliver- 
ing the  "Gay  Lectures"  before  the  Southern  Baptist  Theo- 
logical Seminary  on  the  topic,  "The  Story  of  Missions  in 
Five  Continents,"  special  topic,  "Expansion  in  America  and 
Australia,"  has  this  to  say,  as  reported  in  "The  Review  and 
Expositor,"  January,  1908: 

"Look  next  at  church  organization.  To  these  shores  were 
transplanted  from  Britain  three  patterns,  monarchical,  aris- 
tocratic, democratic.  Already  a  Methodist  Episcopal  has 
been  produced — an  ingenious  crossing  of  two  of  these.  Al- 
ways in  Tasmania  the  Baptist  leaders  examined  their  Bibles 
to  see  if  Baptist  traditions  were  absolutely  in  harmony  with 
New  Testament  principle ;  whether  a  few  baptized  believers 
who  build  a  house  for  prayer  and  praise,  paying  a  few  men 
and  women  to  conduct  it,  with  one  pastor  at  the  head,  form 
a  ^church'  on  divine  right,  on  a  necessary  pattern.  They 
decide  not,  and  all  the  Baptists  in  the  island  form  really  one 
community,  with  the  ministers  the  ministers  of  the  whole 
body.  Church  extension  and  matters  of  general  interest  are 
decided  by  the  whole,  and  selfish  isolation  is  discouraged. 
The  same  question  occurs  to  a  minister  in  this  town,  and 
he  asked  whether  New  Testament  precedent  did  not  point 
to  a  single  church  of  Louisville,  like  the  church  of  Ephesus 
or  Corinth.  American  conservatism  frowned  down  the 
heretic,  and  he  sought  refuge  at  Rome.  But  the  same  ques- 
tion has  again  been  raised  in  Britain,  the  president  of  the 
Baptist  Union  stating  as  his  New  Year's  message  that  our 


64*       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

usual  plan  is  at  best  of  human  origin,  and  not  ordered  in 
scripture,  while  many  of  its  developments  are  absolutely  anti- 
scriptural.  For  the  next  few  years  English  Baptists  are 
likely  to  inquire  diligently  whether  the  congregational  system 
blindly  adopted  by  Robert  Browne  is  the  last  word  in  organi- 
zation, or  whether  the  New  Testament  does  not  show  us  all 
the  baptized  believers  in  a  town  forming  one  church,  with 
a  plurality  of  elders  both  to  teach  and  to  administer  business, 
and  probably  many  houses  for  worship.  Indeed,  in  one 
great  town  this  system  is  just  being  tried,  and  the  question 
has  been  ventilated  by  papers  at  our  last  session  of  the  Bap- 
tist Union." 

As  further  illustration  of  the  dangerous  trend,  I  cite  a 
letter  from  "The  Argus."  The  title  of  the  letter  is :  "The 
Baptist  Outlook  in  Great  Britain,"  by  J.  H.  Shakespeare. 
Under  the  head  of  "Ministerial  Recognition"  the  writer  gives 
as  news : 

"The  regular  door  into  the  Baptist  ministry  is  through 
one  of  our  recognized  theological  colleges.  Hitherto  as  soon 
as  a  student  left  college  and  became  the  pastor  of  a  church, 
his  name  was  placed  on  the  list  of  'accredited  ministers'  in 
*The  Baptist  Handbook.'  This  recognition,  as  it  was  called, 
carried  with  it  the  right  to  share  in  the  Annuity  Fund,  and 
other  privileges  of  membership  with  the  Baptist  Union.  The 
pastors  who  entered  the  ministry  without  first  passing 
through  one  of  the  recognized  colleges  were  required  to  pass 
two  examinations  before  being  placed  upon  the  accredited 
list  of  the  Baptist  Union.  At  our  last  spring  assembly,  how- 
ever, a  new  scheme  of  ministerial  recognition  was  all  but 
unanimously  adopted,  and  our  pastors  are  henceforth  to 
be  divided  into  two  sections — probationers  and  recognized 
ministers.  Collegiates  who  receive  satisfactory  certificates 
from  their  college  principals  will  be  at  once  placed  upon  the 
probationers'  list,  and  non-collegiates  will  have  the  same 
privilege  on  passing  one  examination.    All  ministers  on  the 


PRACTICAL  APPLICATIONS  65 

probationers'  list,  whether  collegiate  or  non-collegiate,  will 
be  required  to  pass  a  Baptist  Union  examination  and  to 
submit  satisfactory  proof  as  to  their  pastoral  efficiency  be- 
fore their  names  can  be  transferred  to  the  accredited  list, 
and  they  then  become  recognized  ministers.  It  is  hoped 
that  these  new  regulations  will,  to  some  extent,  guard  the 
portals  to  the  ministry,  and  make  it  more  possible  to  infer 
that  if  a  man  is  a  Baptist  minister  he  shall  not  only  be 
spiritually  qualified,  but  also  be  an  educated  person." 

These  two  extracts  indicate  a  most  dangerous  trend.  The 
first  surrenders  the  old-time  definition  of  a  church,  not  only 
advocating  the  metropolitan  idea  but  the  provincial  idea  of 
a  church.  The  second  goes  to  a  greater  extreme.  An  asso- 
ciation of  purely  human  origin  assumes  to  "guard  the  portals 
of  the  ministry" — to  divide  them  into  classes  of  probationers 
and  accredited — into  collegiates  and  non-collegiates,  usurps 
the  church  prerogative  of  subjecting  to  its  examination,  and 
seeks  to  limit  the  ministry  to  "educated  persons." 

The  stupendous  folly  of  the  whole  business,  its  suicidal 
unscripturalness,  becomes  apparent  by  applying  the  rule  to 
New  Testament  apostles,  evangelists,  and  pastors,  and  to 
past  Baptist  history.  God  forbid  that  we  should  follow  the 
English  Baptists ! 

The  direction  about  exchange  of  letters  between  Colosse 
and  Laodicea  (4:  16)  throws  light  on  two  points :  (i)  That 
in  all  probability  the  letter  from  Laodicea  was  the  letter 
which  we  call  Ephesians.  (2)  We  learn  how  New  Testa- 
ment manuscripts  were  passed  around  before  there  was  a 
collection  of  them  into  one  book  or  library.  And  how  some 
lists,  after  collections  were  formed,  and  even  some  earlier 
versions,  did  not  have  all  the  New  Testament  books.  We 
note  also  in  the  directions  that  Archippus,  son  of  Philemon, 
was  a  minister,  and  one,  too,  that  needed  to  be  stirred  up 
somewhat  in  the  line  of  duty.  The  reader  will  note  the  usual 
attestation  of  Paul's  letters  by  his  autograph  signature,  a 


66       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

habit  adopted  since  he  wrote  his  first  letter,  caused  by  report 
of  forged  letters  in  his  name. 


QUESTIONS 

1.  Where  does  the  practical  part  of  this  letter  commence,  and 
what  reciprocal  relations  expressed  in  3  :  18 — 4 :  i  ? 

2.  What  the  character  of  these  relations,  and  what  arises  from 
them? 

3.  Who  the  author  of  the  relation  between  husband  and  wife, 
what  the  history  and  nature  of  this  relation  ? 

4.  How  may  the  sanctity  of  the  marriage  relation  be  maintained, 
and  what  does  this  involve? 

5.  Where  do  we  find  the  subject  of  the  marriage  relation 
elaborated  and  illustrated,  and  what  the  essential  points  in  the 
discussion  there? 

6.  What  injunction  here  for  children,  and  what,  in  detail,  the 
striking  illustration  given  ? 

7.  What  the  special  application  of  the  exhortations  on  the  sanc- 
tity of  family  ties  to  the  Colossians  ? 

8.  What  the  gospel's  attitude  toward  the  institution  of  slavery, 
and  what  special  precepts  here  touching  this  subject? 

9.  What  the  lessons  here  on  prayer  ? 

ID.    What  the  lessons  on  outward  walk  and  speech? 

11.  How  does  this  teaching  harmonize  with  other  N.  T.  teaching 
on  the  same  subject,  and  what  the-proof  ? 

12.  Who  were  the  bearers  of  this  letter,  and  what  trust  did  Paul 
commit  to  them  besides  this  letter  ? 

13.  What  distinction  does  Paul  here  make  in  his  salutation,  what 
gratifying  bit  of  information  here  relative  to  Mark,  and  what  the 
probable  ground  of  this  reconciliation? 

14.  What  information  touching  these  brethren  from  Peter,  and 
what  information  about  Luke  and  Epaphras  found  in  this  closing 
salutation? 

15.  What  is  here  said  of  Demas,  what  is  said  of  him  in  a  later 
letter,  and  what  the  lesson? 

16.  What  some  modern  ideas  of  the  church,  and  what  the  bearing 
of  the  household  churches  referred  to  here  and  in  Romans  on  such 
ideas? 

17.  What  Rev.  W.  T.  Whitley's  position  on  this  and  kindred 
questions  ? 

18.  What  J.  H.  Shakespeare's  idea  of  the  ministry? 

19.  What  the  fault  with  each  of  these  positions,  respectively? 

20.  What  light  here  on  important  matters  from  4: 16-18? 


THE  BOOK  OF  EPHESIANS 

VII 

HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

WE  now  come  to  consider  the  great  Letter  to  the 
Ephesians.  The  history  of  Paul's  connection  with 
the  Ephesians  may  be  found  in  Acts  18:19-21; 
19:  1-41 ;  20:  17-38.  His  latest  connection  is  in  the  two  let- 
ters to  Timothy.  Peter's  connection  with  all  of  the  dispersed 
Jews  in  the  province  of  Proconsular  Asia,  including  Ephesus, 
appears  in  his  two  letters,  I  and  II  Peter.  There  is  very 
little  in  that ;  the  only  connection  is  his  writing  to  the  Jewish 
part  of  them.  John's  connection  with  these  churches  in 
Asia  is  presented  in  the  book  of  Revelation.  Unquestion- 
ably the  tradition  is  correct  that  John  in  his  old  age  moved 
to  Ephesus,  and  from  that  place  as  headquarters  he  con- 
ducted his  last  apostolic  labors.  It  was  from  that  point  that 
he  was  arrested  and  banished  to  the  Isle  of  Patmos,  and 
there  wrote  the  book  of  Revelation,  and  that  book  of  Reve- 
lation was  addressed  to  the  seven  churches  in  Proconsular 
Asia. 

Much  of  what  is  called  Historical  Introduction  is  omitted 
in  this  chapter.  The  reasons  are  that  all  of  these  matters 
have  been  treated  in  the  discussions  on  Acts  18,  19  and  20, 
and  mainly  because  this  letter  is  more  of  a  circular  letter 
than  a  special  communication  to  a  single  church.  There  is 
an  utter  absence  of  any  local  tone  in  the  letter.  That  it  is 
a  general  letter  appears  from  the  following  considerations : 
I.  The  absence  of  all  personal  messages — an  unaccount- 
able thing  in  a  special  letter  to  the  church  at  Ephesus,  in  view 

67 


68       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

of  his  long  stay  there,  and  the  necessary  intimate  personal 
relations  established.  When  we  read  the  Letter  to  the  Ro- 
mans we  see  that  one  whole  chapter  is  devoted  to  personal 
salutations,  and  we  notice  in  almost  all  of  his  special  letters 
that  there  are  personal  messages  showing  intimate  acquaint- 
ance.   This  letter  has  none  of  that. 

2.  It  would  be  impossible  for  Paul,  in  writing  a  special 
letter  to  the  Ephesians,  to  use  these  two  expressions :  "Hav- 
ing heard  of  the  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  which  is  among 
you,"  1:15.  In  reading  those  three  chapters  in  Acts  we 
note  that  it  was  not  a  matter  of  hearing  with  Paul  to  be 
acquainted  with  the  affairs  at  Ephesus,  especially  about  their 
faith  in  Christ.  The  second  expression  is:  *Tf  so  be  that 
ye  have  heard  of  the  dispensation  of  that  grace  of  God 
which  was  given  me  to  you-ward."  That  shows  that  he 
had  to  know  about  them  by  hearsay,  and  that  they  had  to 
know  about  him  by  hearsay,  which  does  not  fit  at  all  with  the 
facts  in  the  case  concerning  Paul's  relation  with  the  Ephesus 
people.  Then  he  goes  on  to  say :  "As  I  wrote  before  in  few 
words,  whereby,  when  ye  read,  ye  can  perceive  my  under- 
standing in  the  mystery  of  Christ,"  that  is,  "When  you  read 
my  former  letter  you  will  perceive  my  understanding  in  the 
mystery  of  Christ."  It  is  impossible  that  these  two  expres- 
sions could  have  been  used  by  Paul  in  writing  the  church  at 
Ephesus  a  special  letter.  Then  that  reference  to  the  former 
letter  to  them  is  a  reference  to  the  Letter  to  the  Colossians. 
He  wrote  to  the  Colossians  first,  but  before  he  got  a  chance 
so  send  it  he  wrote  the  more  extended  letter  which  we  call 
the  Letter  to  the  Ephesians.  The  same  persons  who  were  in 
his  mind  when  he  wrote  to  the  Colossians  were  evidently 
in  his  mind  when  he  wrote  to  the  Ephesians. 

3.  Again,  the  reference  in  Colossians  4 :  16  to  a  letter  from 
Laodicea  which  they  were  to  get  and  read,  just  as  the  Laodi- 
ceans  were  to  get  and  read  the  Letter  to  the  Colossians, 
shows  that  what  is  called  the  letter  from  Laodicea  is  the 


INTRODUCTION  TO  EPHESIANS  69 

letter  which  we  call  the  Letter  to  the  Ephesians.  Both 
Colossians  and  Ephesians  were  intended  primarily  for  the 
churches  in  the  Lycus  valley,  which  he  himself  had  not 
planted,  but  of  which  he  had  heard. 

4.  The  phrase,  "at  Ephesus,"  in  the  first  verse :  "To  the 
saints  that  are  at  Ephesus,"  is  not  in  the  two  oldest  manu- 
scripts— the  Sinaitic  and  the  Vatican.  Yet  again,  the  earliest 
fathers,  when  commenting  upon  this  Letter  to  the  Ephesians, 
say  that  the  expression,  "at  Ephesus,"  was  not  in  the  copies 
they  had.  It  remains,  then,  to  be  explained  how  the  name, 
"Ephesians,"  got  into  the  title,  and  especially  how  "at 
Ephesus"  got  into  the  text.  These  titles  were  not  a  part 
of  the  original  letters,  but  were  added  much  later  to  all  of 
them.  How  did  it  happen  that  all  manuscripts  have  the 
title,  "To  the  Ephesians,"  and  how  did  it  happen  that  "at 
Ephesus"  got  into  the  first  verse  ?  The  reasonable  explana- 
tion is  this :  The  letter  is  a  circular  letter,  a  general  discus- 
sion of  a  great  theme  introduced  in  the  Colossian  letter,  but 
here  elaborated  for  all  the  churches  in  Proconsular  Asia. 
A  copy  would  probably  be  addressed  to  the  Laodiceans, 
other  copies  might  be  given  to  other  churches.  The  original 
letter  may  have  been  this  way :   "To  all  the  saints  that  are 

at ,"  leaving  a  blank  for  the  insertion  of 

the  name  of  the  church  to  which  a  copy  would  be  sent.  It 
was  the  object  of  Paul  that  this  letter  which  we  call  "Ephe- 
sians" should  have  general  circulation.  There  is  no  local 
tone  about  it ;  it  is  just  as  applicable  to  one  church  in  Asia 
as  to  any  other.  It  is  certain  that  one  copy,  probably  the 
original  one,  reached  the  church  at  Ephesus,  the  metropolis 
of  Proconsular  Asia,  so  that  this  copy  would  naturally 
and  more  readily  be  preserved  and  passed  into  history. 
The  testimony  is  both  substantial  and  sufficient  that 
Ephesus  had  this  letter  in  her  archives.  So  the  world  at 
large  would  bear  and  know  of  this  Ephesian  copy  of  the 
letter. 


70       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

The  Alexandrian  manuscript  which  is  one  of  the  three 
oldest  (in  the  order  of  their  antiquity  (i)  Sinaitic,  (2) 
Vatican,  (3)  Alexandrian)  has  "At  Ephesus."  What  is  still 
more  important  is  that  the  Peshito-Syriac  version,  which  is 
older  than  any  manuscript  that  we  have,  has  "At  Ephesus," 
so  the  evidence  is  clear  that  some  of  the  copies  of  the  New 
Testament  did  have  "At  Ephesus."  The  Alexandrian  manu- 
script and  the  Peshito-Syriac  version  prove  this.  Other 
copies  did  not  have  it ;  the  Vatican  and  Sinaitic  manuscripts 
and  the  early  fathers  prove  this.  The  absolutely  non-local 
tone  of  the  letter  shows  its  general  character.  We  know  that 
Paul  wrote  the  circular  letter.  He  might  have  filled  in  one 
of  the  blanks,  "At  Ephesus."  Tychicus,  who  carried  the 
letter,  was  very  probably  an  Ephesian.  There  is  no  clear 
proof  as  to  whether  his  home  was  at  Colosse,  Laodicea, 
Hierapolis,  or  Ephesus,  but  the  probabilities  are  in  favor  of 
his  living  at  Ephesus. 

Now,  this  is  why,  in  giving  this  discussion,  the  usual  matter 
of  General  Introduction  is  omitted,  viz. :  because  this  letter 
does  not  concern  Ephesus  any  more  than  Laodicea,  Hierap- 
olis, or  Colosse.  While  a  copy  went  to  Ephesus,  unquestion- 
ably a  copy  also  went  to  Laodicea  and  one  to  Colosse.  There- 
fore it  would  be  out  of  order  for  me  in  a  discussion  on  the 
General  Introduction  to  go  into  details  on  the  history  of 
Ephesus. 

The  relation  of  Ephesians  to  Colossians  is  even  more 
evident  and  striking  than  the  relation  of  Galatians  to  Ro- 
mans. The  reader  should  carefully  study  the  parallels  be- 
tween these  letters  so  ably  set  forth  in  the  Introduction  to 
the  "Commentary  on  Ephesians"  by  Moule  in  the  Cam- 
bridge Bible  for  Schools  and  Colleges,  which  I  here  quote 
entire : 

I.  Christ  the  head  of  the  church:  Eph.  1:22;  4:15; 
5:23;  Col.  1 :  18;  2:  19.  This  view  of  the  Lord's  position 
and  function  is  practically  confined  to  these  epistles. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  EPHESIANS  71 

2.  Christ  supreme  over  angelic  powers :  Eph.  1:21;  Col. 
2: 10. 

3.  The  church  Christ's  body :  Eph.  i :  23  ;  4 :  12 ;  5  :23-30, 
etc. ;  Col.  1:18,  24. 

4.  Articulation  and  nourishment  of  the  body:  Eph. 
4: 16;  Col.  2:  19.    The  imagery  is  peculiar  to  these  epistles. 

5.  Growth  of  the  body :  Eph.  4:16;  Col.  2 :  19. 

6.  The  body  one :  Eph.  2  :  16 ;  4 :  4 ;  Col.  3:15. 

7.  Christians  once  dead  in  sin:   Eph.  2:1,  5 ;  Col.  2:  13. 

8.  Once  alienated  from  God  and  grace:  Eph.  2:12; 
4:18;  Col.  1:21.  The  Greek  verb  is  confined  to  these 
epistles. 

9.  Once  in  darkness :  Eph.  4 :  18 ;  5  :  8 ;  Col.  1:13. 

10.  Now  risen  with  Christ :  Eph.  2:6;  Col.  2:12;  3:1. 
The  Greek  verb  is  confined  to  these  epistles. 

11.  Made  alive  with  Christ:  Eph.  2:5;  Col.  2:  13.  The 
Greek  verb  is  confined  to  these  epistles. 

12.  Reconciled  through  the  death  of  Christ:  Eph.  2:13- 
16;  Col.  1:20,  21.  The  Greek  verb  is  confined  to  these 
epistles. 

13.  Redeemed,  in  the  sense  of  pardon  of  sin,  in  Christ: 
Eph.  1:7;  Col.  1:14.  The  exact  phrase  is  peculiar  to  these 
epistles. 

14.  In  the  light :  Eph.  5  : 8,  9 ;  Col.  1:12. 

15.  Rooted  in  Christ:  Eph.  3:  17;  Col.  2:  7.  The  Greek 
verb  is  confined  to  these  epistles. 

16.  Built  up  as  a  structure :  Eph.  2 :  20 ;  Col.  2 :  7. 

17.  On  a  foundation :  Eph.  3:17;  Col.  i :  2^. 

18.  Spiritually  filled :  Eph.  i :  23 ;  3 :  19 ;  5  :  18 ;  Col.  1:9; 
2: 10. 

19.  The  fulness :  Eph.  i :  23 ;  3  :  19 ;  Col.  i :  19 ;  2 :  9. 

20.  The  old  man  and  the  new  man :  Eph.  4 :  22-24 ;  Col. 
3:9>io. 

21.  Similar  classes  of  sins  reproved:  Eph.  4:2,  3;  Col. 
3: 12-14;  Eph.  4 :  25 ;  5 :  5 ;  Col.  3 :  5-8. 


72       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

22.  The  wrath  of  God  coming :  Eph.  5:6;  Col.  3  :  6. 

23.  The  duties  of  home  enforced,  in  the  same  order  and 
similar  words :   Eph.  5 :  22 — 6 : 9 ;  Col.  3 :  18 — ^4 :  i. 

24.  The  walk  of  sin :  Eph.  2 :  2 ;  4 :  17 ;  Col.  3 :  7. 

25.  The  walk  of  holiness  :  Eph.  2 :  10 ;  4 :  i ;  5  :  2 ;  5  :  15 ; 
Col.  1 :  10;  2:6;  4:  5. 

26.  Redemption  of  opportunity:  Eph.  5:16;  Col.  4:5. 
The  phrase  is  peculiar  to  these  epistles. 

2^.  Prayer  and  intercession :  Eph.  6:18;  Col.  4 :  2. 

28.  The  mystery  revealed :  Eph.  1:9;  3:3,  4,  9 ;  6:19; 
Col.  1 :  26,  27 ;  2 :  2 ;  4 :  5. 

29.  Riches :  Eph.  i :  7,  18 ;  2 :  7 ;  3 :  8,  16 ;  Col.  i :  27 ;  2 :  2. 

30.  Ages  and  generations  :  Eph.  3  :  21 ;  Col.  i :  26. 
"Generation"  occurs  in  Paul  only  in  these  epistles  and  the 
Philippians. 

31.  The  word  of  truth:  Eph.  1 :  13;  Col.  i :  5. 

32.  Character  and  commission  of  Tychicus:  Eph.  6:21; 
Col.  4:  7. 

The  reader  will  note  the  great  characteristics  of  this 
Letter  to  the  Ephesians : 

1.  It  is  a  letter  of  great  prayers.  There  are  two  prayers 
in  this  letter  that  beat  the  world  on  prayer.  One  of  them 
staggers  qredulity  itself.  When  we  come  to  expound  the 
letter  both  of  these  great  prayers  will  be  analyzed.  I  ven- 
ture to  say  that  most  people  never  in  their  lives  prayed  for 
some  of  the  things  which  Paul  prayed  for  here. 

2.  Then  it  is  a  letter  of  salvation  by  grace.  It  certainly 
presents  the  doctrine  that  salvation  is  by  grace,  from  its 
incipiency  in  the  Divine  purpose  to  its  consummation  in 
glory. 

3.  It  is  a  letter  of  great  unities.  Nowhere  else  do  we  find 
such  complete  unities.  For  instance,  Jew  and  Gentile  are 
made  one — one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  Holy 
Spirit,  all  members  of  the  church  one,  consisting  of  one 
body. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  EPHESIANS  73 

4.  In  the  next  place  it  is  a  letter  concerning  the  multiform 
views  of  the  word  "church,"  such  as  we  find  nowhere  else. 

5.  Finally,  it  is  a  letter  of  great  love.  We  find  when  we 
come  to  Revelation  that  Jesus  has  just  one  thing  against  the 
church  at  Ephesus,  and  that  is,  that  it  had  left  its  first  love. 
We  find  in  I  Cor.  13  a  marvelous  apostrophe  on  the  power  of 
love,  but  that  only  presents  love  in  one  of  its  aspects.  This 
Letter  to  the  Ephesians  presents  it  in  many  forms. 

We  now  come  to  the  analysis.  We  need  a  plan,  or  scheme 
of  study,  so  here  I  give  the  following  analysis : 

1.  The  greeting,  i :  1,2. 

2.  The  sublime  ascription  of  praise,  i :  3-14. 

3.  The  thanksgiving,  1:15. 

4.  The  first  great  prayer,  i :  16-21. 

5.  Christ's  exaltation  and  its  purpose  toward  the  church, 
1 : 2.:i,  23. 

6.  Salvation  by  grace,  2 :  i-io. 

7.  The  breaking  down  of  the  wall  of  partition  between 
Jew  and  Gentile,  and  their  union  in  one  church  as  an  insti- 
tution, which  finds  expression  in  each  particular  church, 
2:  11-22. 

8.  The  relation  of  Paul  to  this  great  mystery,  3 :  1-13. 

9.  His  second  great  prayer,  3  :  14-21. 

10.  The  great  unities,  and  the  instruments  for  securing 
them,  4:  1-16. 

11.  Consequent  Exhortation:  (i)  To  a  life  of  holiness  in 
a  wicked  world,  4 :  17-21.  (2)  To  a  life  of  hohness  in  family 
relations,  5  :  22 — 6 :  9. 

12.  Christ  as  the  bride,  illustration,  5  :  25-32. 

13.  The  Christian  armor,  6:  10-20. 

14.  Tychicus,  the  messenger,  6:  21,  22. 

15.  The  benediction,  6 :  23. 

Attention  needs  to  be  recalled  to  the  development  of 
thought  in  these  letters  written  during  the  final  imprison- 
ment at  Rome — that  they  concern  the  person  and  office  of 


74       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

Christ.  In  Philipplans  on  the  person  and  office  of  Christ  we 
have  presented  His  great  humihation  in  laying  aside  the 
form  of  God  and  taking  upon  himself  the  form  of  a  slave 
and  becoming  obedient  unto  the  sacrificial  death  on  the 
cross,  then  His  transcendent  exaltation  to  be  King  of  kings 
and  Lord  of  lords.  This  is  the  thought  in  Philippians. 
When  we  come  to  Colossians  we  have  the  person  of  Christ 
in  His  relation  to  the  Father,  in  His  relation  to  the  universe, 
and  in  His  relation  to  the  church.  When  we  come  to  Ephe- 
sians  we  have  the  relation  of  Christ  to  the  universe  not 
much  stressed,  and  His  relation  to  the  church,  with  emphasis 
on  the  church.  In  other  words,  Ephesians  is  a  letter  more 
concerning  the  church  than  concerning  the  person  of  Christ. 
Colossians  is  more  concerning  the  person  of  Christ  than 
concerning  the  church.  And  Philippians  is  altogether  con- 
cerning the  person  of  Christ.  Thus  Philippians,  the  person 
of  Christ  alone;  Colossians  the  person  of  Christ  mainly, 
church  partly ;  Ephesians,  person  of  Christ  somewhat,  church 
mainly.    That  is  the  development  in  these  letters. 

Whoever  can  expound  the  references  to  the  church  in 
the  Letter  to  the  Ephesians  is  a  past  master  on  the  New 
Testament  usages  of  the  word,  and  nobody  is  a  master  or 
expert  on  the  New  Testament  usage  of  the  word,  "church," 
who  cannot  find  in  Ephesians  all  three  great  senses  of  the 
word,  "church,"  that  is,  the  church  in  glory  conceived  in 
the  mind  of  God  as  a  unit,  all  the  elect;  the  church  as  an 
institution,  and  the  church  as  a  particular  congregation. 
Every  one  of  these  will  be  seen  when  we  come  to  expound 
the  letter. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  EPHESIANS  75 


QUESTIONS 

1.  Where  do  you  find  the  history  of  Paul's  connection  with  the 
church  at  Ephesus  prior  to  this  letter,  and  where  his  subsequent 
connection  ? 

2.  What  the  slight  connection  between  Peter  and  Jude  with  the 
Christians  of  proconsular  Asia? 

3.  What  John's  connection  ? 

4.  What  matter  is  usually  given  in  an  introductory  chapter  to  a 
letter  written  to  a  particular  place,  and  why  omitted  here? 

5.  What  expressions  in  the  letter  itself  make  it  impossible  that 
this  letter  is  especially  for  the  Ephesians  ? 

6.  What  authorities  omit  "At  Ephesus"  in  verse  i,  and  what 
retain  it,  and  how  do  you  account  for  this  discrepancy? 

7.  What  the  letter  to  which  Paul  refers  in  Col.  4 :  16,  and  what 
references  in  Ephesians  confirm  it? 

8.  Give  the  parallels  between  Colossians  and  Ephesians,  and 
state  what  they  prove. 

9.  What  the  great  characteristics  of  this  letter? 

10.  Give  the  author's  analysis. 

11.  Trace  the  development  of  thought  in  Philippians,  Colossians, 
Ephesians  and  Hebrews  on  the  person  of  Christ  and  His  relations, 
and  show  the  change  in  emphasis  as  the  development  proceeds. 

12.  What  the  position  of  one  who  can  give  the  several  senses  of 
the  word,  "church,"  in  this  letter  ? 

13.  Collocate  the  references  to  each  and  expound  them. 


VIII 

ELECTION,  FOREORDINATION,  ADOPTION, 
GRACE 

Scripture:    1:1-14 

IN  the  historical  introduction  attention  was  called  to  the 
characteristics  of  this  letter.  Let  us  recall  these  charac- 
teristics. It  is  a  letter  of  exuberant  joy.  There  is  not  a 
pessimistic  note  or  tone  in  it.  The  circumstances  of  Paul's 
own  imprisonment  cast  no  shadow  over  its  glowing  pages. 
It  treats  of  salvation  by  grace. 

Salvation,  from  its  incipiency  in  the  divine  purpose  before 
the  world  was  created,  to  its  consummation  in  glory,  is  all  of 
grace. 

The  divine  sovereignty  is  exalted  throughout,  and  the 
divine  love  is  the  fountain-medium  and  application  of  sal- 
vation. This  brings  out  in  a  marked  degree  the  Holy 
Trinity — Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit — distinguishing  with 
great  clearness  the  peculiar  office  of  each  in  the  salvation 
of  men.  The  Father  is  the  source,  the  Son  is  the  medium, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  applies.  All  the  divine  attributes  are 
magnified — infinite  holiness,  love,  wisdom,  omniscience, 
omnipotence,  and  omnipresence. 

The  salvation  is  according  to  a  well-ordered  plan,  and 
worked  out  without  accident  or  confusion  to  a  glorious  end. 
What  love  desired,  that  wisdom  planned,  intelligence  chose, 
will  decreed,  and  Providence  worked  out,  making  contribu- 
tory thereto  the  whole  universe  with  all  its  material  laws 
and  spiritual  intelligences.  No  detail  is  left  to  chance;  all 
means  are  included,  whether  friendly  or  hostile.    Each  link 

76 


SALVATION  CORNERSTONES  77 

of  the  chain  is  forged  by  infinite  wisdom  and  power,  and  the 
whole  chain,  infallibly  strong  in  all  its  parts,  extends  from 
eternity  to  eternity. 

What  of  this  plan  was  mystery  to  the  finite  mind  in  Old 
Testament  days  is  made  manifest  in  the  revelation  of  Christ. 
God's  apparent  partiality  toward  a  particular  nation  is  now 
disclosed  to  be  an  equal  love  for  all  nations.  Jew  and  Gen- 
tile are  made  one,  and  aliens  and  strangers  become  fellow- 
citizens  in  the  commonwealth  of  Him  who  is  no  respecter  of 
persons.  Christian  character  and  service,  as  fruits  of  ante- 
cedent grace,  magnify  Him  whose  holiness  is  repugnant  to 
sin  and  idleness.  The  whole  letter  is  designed,  not  only  to 
glorify  the  sovereignty  of  God,  but  to  promote  purity  of 
heart  and  life. 

We  take  up  the  exposition,  following  the  order  of  the 
analysis  given  in  the  last  chapter.  The  first  item  of  the 
analysis  is  the  greeting,  verses  1,2.  In  most  of  his  greetings 
Paul  first  announces  his  authority,  "an  apostle,"  and,  second, 
that  he  is  such  by  the  will  of  God.  Those  addressed  are  called 
"saints"  with  reference  to  their  profession  rather  than  char- 
acter, and  "believers"  or  "faithful"  with  reference  to  their 
subjective  state.  He  invokes  on  them,  as  upon  all  to  whom 
he  writes,  grace  and  peace. 

We  come  now  to  the  ascription  of  blessedness  to  God 
because  He  blessed  us.  This  item  extends  from  verse  3  to 
verse  14.  Let  the  reader  note  the  use  of  the  past  tense  (the 
Greek  aorist)  and  not  the  perfect  tense.  It  is  hardly  proper 
in  this  connection  to  say  "who  hath  blessed  us."  It  means 
"who  blessed  us,"  referring  to  a  time  long  past.  That  tense 
goes  all  the  way  through.  We  will  be  able  to  see  the  force  of 
this  presently. 

Let  us  notice,  in  the  second  place,  the  distinction  in  mean- 
ing when  we  bless  God  and  when  He  blesses  us.  When  we 
bless  God  we  ascribe  blessedness  to  Him  ;  when  He  blesses  us 
He  confers  blessings.     In  the   Old  Testament  the  term 


78       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

"blessed"  is  applied  quite  often  to  men.  In  the  New  Testa- 
ment the  term  is  used,  I  think,  about  eight  times,  and  always 
refers  to  God. 

Now  let  us  analyze  a  sentence  twelve  verses  long,  extend- 
*|\  ing  from  verse  3  to  verse  14,  inclusive.  I  have  yet  to  find  a 
man  who  has  thoroughly  followed  that  sentence  clear  through 
and  kept  up  the  connection.  The  grammatical  construction 
is  exceedingly  difficult,  making  a  clear  analysis  very  hard, 
because  the  apostle,  like  a  Titan,  piles  mountains  upon  top  of 
mountains  in  his  thoughts.  He  is  very  economic  in  his  use 
of  periods.  No  matter  how  difficult,  let  us  try  to  analyze  it, 
particularly  that  "blessed  us,"  which  in  verse  3  is  in  the  past 
tense.  We  want  to  analyze  it  as  follows :  Place  where  He 
blessed  us?  He  blessed  us  in  heavenly  places.  Time  when 
He  blessed  us  ?  Before  the  world  was.  In  whonj  He  blessed 
us  ?  In  Christ — we  were  not  there  personally.  In  what  He 
blessed  us?  In  all  spiritual  blessings  ;  temporal  blessings  are 
not  taken  into  account  at  all.  How  did  God  bless  us  then  and. 
there,  that  is,  in  Heaven  before  the  world  was  ?  In  election, 
foreordination  and  grace.  That  is  how  He  blessed  us  before 
we  existed ;  in  His  purpose  of  election,  in  His  foreordination, 
and  in  His  grace.  We  notice  how  frequently  he  brings  in 
both  foreordination  and  election,  and  therefore  as  He  blessed 
us  in  election  and  foreordination  we  want  to  see  what  those 
words  mean. 

I  take  up  the  first  one— ^election.  What  is  it?  Abstractly 
it  means. choice.  Concretely  there  may  be  an  election  of  a 
nation,  like  Israel,  for  a  national  or  typical  purpose,  but  that 
is  not  what  he  is  discussing  here.  He  is  discussing  the  elec- 
tion of  individuals,  or  persons.  When  did  this  election  take 
place?  Before  the  world  was.  As  it  took  place  then,  and  as 
we  were  not  existing  then,  in  whom  did  it  take  place  ?  We 
were  elected  in  Christ.  To  what  end  were  we  elected  ?  That 
we  should  be  holy  and  without  blemish  in  love,  That  is  what 
the  text  says  about  the  election. 


SALVATION  CORNERSTONES  79 

The  other  term  used  is  *'foreordination."  First,  what  is 
it?  It  is  a  decree  beforehand.  To  ordain  is  to  decree,  and 
/preordination  is  a  decree  beforehand.  Who  were  ordained? 
The  individuals  that  were  chosen.  Unto  what  were  they  or- 
dainer?  Unto  adoption  as  sons.  Through  whom  were  they 
adopted  as  sons  ?  Through  Christ.  According  to  what  was 
this  foreordination  of  the  adoption  as  sons  through  Christ? 
According  to  the  good  pleasure  of  His  will.  It  could  not  be 
according  to  anything  in  us ;  it  was  anterior  to  our  being.  JTo 
^Mt  end  was  that  foreordination  ?  To  the  praise  of  the  glory 
of  His  grace. 

Let  us  now  see  how  far  we  have  advanced.  He  blessed 
us — where?  In  heaven.  When?  Before  the  world  was. 
In  whom?  In  Christ.  In  what?  All  spiritual  blessings. 
How  could  He  do  that  then  and  there?  In  election,  fore- 
ordination and  grace.  What  is  election?  Choice  toward 
individuals.  When  was  this  choice  made?  Before  the  world 
was.  As  we  were  not  there  then,  in  whom  was  it  made  ?  In 
Christ.  To  what  end  ?  That  we  should  be  holy  and  without 
blemish  in  love.  He  blessed  us  at  that  time  in  foreordina- 
tion. What  does  that  mean?  To  decree  beforehand.  Con- 
cerning whom  ?  The  particular  individuals  that  were  elected. 
Unto  what?  Unto  adoption  as  sons.  Through  whom? 
Through  Jesus  Christ.  According  to  what?  According  to 
the  good  pleasure  of  His  will.  To  what  end?  To  the  praise 
of  the  glory  of  His  grace. 

That  brings  in  another  term — -^race — in  which  He  then 
blessed  us.  What  is  grace  ?  Unmerited  favor.  How  is  that 
bestowed?  Freely,  gratuitously.  I  once  heard  a  man  say, 
"free  gratis,  for  nothing,  without  charge."  That  is  the  way 
it  is  bestowed.  As  we  were  not  there,  in  whom  was  it 
bestowed  ?  In  Christ,  the  Beloved.  The  blessings  that  I  am 
to  receive  as  a  Christian  were  not  bestowed  upon  me,  the 
hateful,  but  in  Christ,  the  Beloved.  I  will  get  to  them  by  get- 
ting into  Him,  and  be  complete  in  Him. 


80       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

So  far  we  have  analyzed  that  sentence  up  to  the  specifica- 
tions of  the  blessings.  The  first  specification  is  adoption. 
What  is  adoption?  Adoption  is  a  form  of  law  by  which  one 
not  naturally  a  child  is  legally  made  a  child  and  heir.  Just 
as  if  a  father  should  go  to  the  Orphans'  Home  and  select  a 
little  orphan,  with  nothing  in  it  to  recommend  it,  take  that 
child  according  to  the  forms  of  law  and  receive  it  into  his 
family,  so  that  under  the  law  it  will  inherit  just  as  much  as 
if  it  were  born  in  that  family.    That  is  adoption. 

When  does  adoption  take  place  ?  It  is  not  like  election  and 
foreordination.  We  were  foreordained  to  adoption;  when 
the  time  comes  we  get  it.  We  are  all  children  of  God  by 
faith,  but  as  John  expresses  it,  "As  many  as  received  Him, 
to  them  gave  He  power  to  become  sons  of  God,  even  as  many 
as  believed  on  Him."  So  our  adoption  takes  place  at  the  time 
when  we  believe,  and  when  we  receive  Christ  as  our  Savior. 
Foreordination  took  place  way  back  yonder  in  eternity,  but 
the  fruitage,  the  adoption,  takes  place  in  time.  How  is  this 
adoption  signified  to  us?  How  am  I  to  tell  when  I  am 
adopted  ?  Whenever  in  the  heart  of  a  believer  there  comes  a 
filial  feeling  toward  God,  "He  hath  sent  forth  the  spirit  of 
adoption  whereby  we  cry  Abba,  Father." 

I  remember  distinctly  when  that  filial  feeling  came  into 
my  own  heart.  Before  I  was  converted  I  thought  of  God 
as  distant,  dreadful,  unapproachable,  and  did  not  like  to 
think  about  Him.  But  when  I  believed  on  Jesus  Christ  and 
the  spirit  of  adoption  came  into  my  heart,  I  could  not  say 
often  enough,  "Father!  Father!  Father!"  I  would  wake 
in  the  night  and  say  it. 

In  heaven,  before  the  creation  of  the  world,  He  blessed  us 
in  all  spiritual  blessings,  but  He  blessed  us  then  in  election, 
foreordination  and  grace.  Later  the  election,  foreordination 
and  grace  fruited  in  adoption.  He  elected  us,  foreordained 
us  unto  adoption  as  sons  through  Christ  unto  himself,  accord- 
ing to  the  good  pleasure  of  His  will. 


SALVATION  CORNERSTONES  81 

Let  us  take  the  next  blessing  that  is  specified.  "In  whom 
we  have  our  redemption."  What  is  redemption  ?  To  redeem 
means  to  buy  back  that  which  had  been  sold.  We  were  sold 
under  sin,  we  were  in  bondage,  under  the  power  of  Satan,  a 
lawful  captive  to  Satan.  Christ  proposes,  as  one  of  the  bless- 
ings of  salvation,  to  buy  us  back,  to  redeem  us.  So  redemp- 
tion is  buying  back.  What  is  the  price?  His  blood  on  the 
cross.  We  notice  over  in  Peter,  he  says :  "You  were  pur- 
chased, not  with  corruptible  things  like  silver  and  gold,  but 
with  the  blood  of  Christ."  Redemption  and  adoption  are 
both  legal  terms.  They  relate  to  the  external  aspects  of  sal- 
vation, while  regeneration  and  sanctification  relate  to  the 
internal  aspects. 

The  next  blessing  is  forgiveness  of  our  sins.  This  stands 
in  apposition  with  redemption — redemption,  which  is  the  for- 
giveness of  sins :  "Our  redemption,  even  the  forgiveness  of 
our  sins."  That  idea  of  redemption  is  peculiar  to  these  prison 
letters.  In  Colossians  the  word,  "redemption,"  is  so  inter- 
preted, but  let  us  get  the  distinction  between  redemption  and 
forgiveness.  Redemption,  or  buying  back,  implies  that  we 
were  sold  under  sin  and  had  to  be  bought  back.  Redemp- 
tion consists  in  loosing  the  bond  of  sin,  it  consists  in  remission 
or  forgiveness  of  sin.  Forgiveness  of  sin,  throughout  the 
Bible,  particularly  throughout  the  New  Testament,  is  a  great 
covenant  blessing.  See  how  it  is  referred  to  in  Hebrews  as 
one  of  the  three  great  blessings  of  the  new  covenant 
(8:9-13)  towit: 

1.  "I  will  write  my  law  in  their  minds" — not  on  tablets 
of  stone. 

2.  "All  shall  know  me  experimentally." 

3.  "I  will  be  merciful  to  their  unrighteousness,  and  their 
sins  and  their  iniquities  will  I  remember  no  more."  In  the 
sacrifices  of  the  Old  Testament  the  sins  were  simply  passed 
over  until  the  true  expiation  came.    So  that  we  may  count 


82       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

the  actual  expiation  of  sins  as  a  great  blessing  of  the  new 
covenant. 

Just  here  arises  a  question  which  has  confused  many.  If 
sins  under  the  old  covenant  were  merely  passed  over  until 
the  Antitype  of  the  sacrifices  came,  were  men  really  pardoned 
before  Christ  died?  The  difficulty  lies  in  confounding  two 
quite  distinct  things — expiation  Godward  and  forgiveness 
manward.  No  sin  was  expiated  Godward  till  Christ  died, 
but  sins  under  the  Old  Testament  dispensation  were  forgiven 
manward  whenever  the  sinner's  faith  looked  beyond  the 
typical  sacrifice  to  the  antitypical.  The  Son's  pledge  to  ex- 
piate in  the  fulness  of  time  was  accepted  by  the  Father  as  if 
performed,  and  the  transgression  of  the  offender  who  be- 
lieved was  reckoned  to  Christ  and  not  imputed  to  the  trans- 
gressor. The  moment  a  creditor's  debt  is  charged  to  the 
surety,  the  debtor  is  released. 

At  this  point  also  we  need  to  clear  up  another  matter.  If  I 
am  justified,  declared  innocent,  when  I  believe  on  Jesus 
Christ,  how  can  there  be  any  forgiveness  of  sin  ?  I  have  been 
tried  and  acquitted,  and  after  I  have  been  acquitted  why  say, 
*T  will  forgive  thee?"  I  will  explain.  A  owes  $10,000  and 
B  is  surety.  A  becomes  bankrupt,  is  unable  to  pay,  and  the 
security  pays  it.  B  having  paid  it,  if  the  creditor  were  to 
bring  suit  against  A  for  it,  he  would  stand  acquitted  before 
the  law,  because  he  holds  the  receipt  that  B  has  paid  it. 
While  he  is  declared  free,  so  far  as  the  original  creditor  is 
concerned,  he  still  owes  B,  his  surety,  and  B  may  remit  the 
debt.  So  when  Christ  paid  our  debts  we  were  acquitted 
before  the  law,  but  were  left  under  obligation  to  the  surety. 
Now  the  surety,  having  saved  us  from  the  law,  can  say  to 
us,  *T  will  freely  forgive  you  what  I  have  paid  for  you  on 
certain  conditions." 

We  are  now  ready  to  go  back  and  take  up  those  blessings 
— adoption,  redemption,  forgiveness  of  sin.  These  are  the 
specifications  of  the  blessings  in  Christ.    They  have  all  been 


SALVATION  CORNERSTONES  83 

explained.  According  to  what  are  all  these?  Our  text  tells 
us  that  they  are  "according  to  the  riches  of  His  grace."  How 
are  these  riches  of  His  grace  made  to  abound  in  us?  By- 
revelation  of  the  mystery  of  His  will.  Suppose  we  are  in  sin ; 
we  do  not  know  a  thing  about  what  took  place  way  back 
yonder  before  the  world  was.  We  do  not  know  that  way 
back  yonder  we  were  elected  and  foreordained  and  have  a 
portion  in  Christ.  Our  text  says,  "According  to  the  riches 
of  His  grace  which  He  made  to  abound  toward  us  in  all  wis- 
dom and  prudence,  making  known  to  us  the  mystery  of  His 
will."  When  was  this  mystery  fully  made  known?  In  the 
dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  time. 

This  brings  us  to  another  point.  What  object  had  God  in 
view  in  all  these  things  explained  so  far,  in  blessing  us  in 
all  spiritual  blessings,  in  election,  foreordination  and  grace, 
which  blessings  are  adoption,  redemption,  and  forgiveness  of 
sin  ?  To  what  end  ?  Here  we  get  on  Colossian  ground :  "To 
sum  up,  gather  together,  or  re-collect  all  things  in  Christ." 
To  re-collect  means  that  there  has  been  a  dispersion.  That 
dispersion  took  place  when  sin  came  into  the  world.  Not 
only  was  man  lost,  but  the  world  in  which  he  lived  was 
accursed.  Now  the  object  was  to  sum  up,  re-collect,  all 
things  in  Christ.  In  Colossians  we  considered  the  person  of 
Christ:  (i)  in  His  relation  to  the  Father;  (2)  in  His  rela- 
tion to  the  universe;  (3)  in  His  relation  to  the  church.  All 
things  in  heaven — that  includes  the  angels;  all  things  in 
earth — that  includes  man.  He  gives  two  samples  or  speci- 
fications of  this  gathering  together,  or  re-collection,  which 
takes  place  here  on  the  earth  (verse  12)  :  i.  "IVe  who  had 
before  hoped  in  Christ."  2.  (verse  13)  "In  whom  ye  also 
having  heard  the  word  of  truth,  the  gospel  of  your  salva- 
tion." "We"  and  "you"  that  have  been  dispersed  are  to  be 
brought  together  in  Christ.  Who  is  the  "we  ?"  Those  who 
hoped  in  Christ  before  the  gospel  times — the  Jews,  with  types 
and  prophecies  to  guide  them.    Who  are  "ye  ?"    Those  who 


84       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

heard  the  gospel.  It  is  the  purpose  of  all  the  election  and 
predestination  and  foreordination  to  re-collect  all  things  and 
to  sum  them  up  in  Christ. 

Let  us  see  the  process  with  reference  to  "we."  (i)  It  is 
said  "we  are  made  God's  heritage."  That  is  the  first  item. 
(2)  "Having  been  foreordained."  (3)  "According  to  His 
purpose."  (4)  To  what  end?  "That  we  should  be  unto  the 
praise  of  His  glory." 

Let  us  look  at  the  "you"  also.  "In  whom  ye  also  having 
heard  the  word  of  truth,  the  gospel  of  your  salvation,  first 
believed,  then  were  sealed  with  the  Holy  Spirit  of  promise." 
He  is  called  the  Holy  Spirit  of  promise  because  He  was 
promised.  "Behold  I  send  upon  you  the  promise  of  the 
Father."  The  prophets  promised,  John  the  Baptist  promised, 
Christ  promised.  What  is  the  seal  ?  Pedobaptists  tell  us  that 
it  is  baptism.    This  is  error. 

Baptism  is  never  called  a  seal.  We  were  sealed  with  the 
Holy  Spirit.  We  were  sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemption. 
The  object  of  the  seal  is  to  indicate  ownership  and  to  safe- 
guard what  is  sealed  unto  its  destination. 

We  take  a  package  down  to  the  express  office  addressed 
to  A.  B.  C,  Los  Angeles,  California.  The  package  is  sealed ; 
on  the  seal  is  the  signet  of  the  express  company.  If  the 
company  is  strong  enough  to  guarantee  the  sanctity  of  the 
seal,  it  will  remain  sealed  until  it  gets  to  its  destination.  When 
we  believe,  something  takes  place  that  is  called  sealing,  and 
whatever  it  is,  it  is  done  by  the  Holy  Spirit  and  not  by  bap- 
tizing. In  the  Letter  to  Timothy  we  find  an  account  of  the 
signet  pressed  on  the  seal.  That  signet  had  two  inscriptions, 
one  on  each  side.  On  one  side  this:  "The  Lord  knoweth 
them  that  are  His."  We  may  not  know ;  we  may  make  a 
mistake  about  it.  The  devil  may  make  a  mistake  about  it, 
but  the  Lord  knows.  On  the  other  side:  "Let  Him  that 
taketh  the  name  of  the  Lord  depart  from  iniquity."    The 


SALVATION  CORNERSTONES  85 

seal  of  the  Holy  Spirit  makes  distinct  impressions  that  God 
will  always  recognize. 

The  lumber  camps  furnish  an  illustration.  Many  parties 
cut  down  the  pine  trees  and  roll  the  logs  into  the  river.  In 
the  succeeding  freshet  they  all  come  down  to  the  boom  to- 
gether. How  do  they  determine  separate  ownership  ?  Each 
log  has  its  distinguishing  mark.  So  the  mark  or  seal  of  the 
Spirit  given  unto  us  declares  God's  ownership  and  guar- 
antees that  we  will  reach  our  destination — the  day  of  redemp- 
tion. 

This  seal  is  God's  witness  with  our  spirit  that  we  are 
His.  Each  one  has  the  witness  in  himself.  "They  shall  all 
know  me  from  the  least  unto  the  greatest."  It  is  a  matter 
of  personal  experience  and  consciousness.  It  is  even  more, 
for  the  next  thought  is,  "it  is  an  earnest  of  our  inheritance." 
But^what  is  an  earnest?  The  grapes  of  Eshcol  brought  by 
the  spies  illustrate.  The  Israelites  had  in  these  grapes  a 
foretaste  of  the  promised  land.  It  was  a  sample  only,  but  it 
prophesied  more  to  follow.  So  the  joy  that  comes  to  the  new 
convert,  when  he  is  sealed  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  the  same  in 
kind,  though  not  in  degree,  of  the  inheritance  laid  up  in 
heaven  for  the  saints.  While  the  blessing  of  this  earnest  of 
the  Spirit  is  fresh  in  our  hearts,  we  say,  "This  is  heaven  on 
earth." 

In  commercial  matters  an  earnest  is  a  part  of  the  purchase 
money,  binding  the  contract,  and  guaranteeing  the  rest  of 
the  paym.ent.  Whoever  accepts  the  earnest  is  bound  to  abide 
by  the  full  terms  of  the  contract.  So  our  text  says  this 
earnest  is  "unto  the  redemption  of  God's  own  possession." 
The  seal  declares  His  title  to  us,  and  is  an  earnest  that  "He 
who  commenced  a  good  work  in  you  will  perfect  it  unto  the 
day  of  Jesus  Christ."  Not  only  does  it  assure  us  of  God's 
personal  interest  in  His  property,  and  of  His  purpose  to  com- 
plete what  He  has  begun,  thereby  making  it  God's  own  con- 
cern and  interest  that  our, salvation  receive  its  consummation. 


86       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

but  it  commits  God  to  the  redemption  of  the  cursed  earth, 
man's  habitation.  See  the  thought  elaborated  in  Rom. 
8 :  19-23  :  *'For  the  earnest  expectation  of  the  creation  waiteth 
for  the  reveaHng  of  the  sons  of  God.  For  the  creation  was 
subjected  to  vanity,  not  of  its  own  will,  but  by  reason  of  Him 
who  subjected  it,  in  hope  that  the  creation  itself  also  shall 
be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption  into  the  liberty 
of  the  glory  of  the  children  of  God.  For  we  know  that  the 
whole  creation  groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain  together  until 
now.  And  not  only  so,  but  ourselves  also,  who  have  the 
first  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  even  we  ourselves  groan  within 
ourselves,  waiting  for  our  adoption,  towit,  the  redemption 
of  our  body." 

QUESTIONS 

1.  In  the  plan  of  salvation  set  forth  in  this  letter,  how  is  the 
distinguishing  office  work  of  the  persons  in  the  Trinity  brought  out? 

2.  In  the  working  out  of  the  salvation,  in  what  order  are  the 
divine  attributes  exercised,  and  the  part  of  each? 

3.  When  was  the  plan  a  mystery,  and  when  was  the  mystery 
unveiled  by  revelation  ? 

4.  In  addressing  the  letter  to  "saints,"  does  the  apostle  use  the 
term  as  a  designation  of  actual  character  or  of  profession  and 
consecration? 

5.  Mark  the  terminals  of  Paul's  ascription  of  blessedness  to  God 
because  He  blessed  us. 

6.  What  the  tense  and  signification  of  the  verb  in  His  blessing  us? 

7.  What  the  distinction  in  meaning  between  our  blessing  God  and 
His  blessing  us? 

8.  In  analyzing  this  long  compound  sentence,  1:3-14,  answer: 
(i)  Where,  when,  in  whom,  and  in  what  did  He  bless  us?  (2)  De- 
fine the  terms  election,  and  foreordination,  and  the  order  and  time 
of  each.     (3)  When,  in  whom,  and  according  to  what  the  adoption? 

(4)  What  is  grace,  how  bestowed,  in  whom,  and  how  do  we  get  it? 

(5)  What  the  three  specifications  of  the  blessings  we  receive?     (6) 
Define  and  explain  the  three. 

9.  When  and  how  were  sins  expiated? 

10.  Explain  how  sins  in  the  Old  Testament  dispensation  were  not 
expiated  and  yet  were  forgiven. 

11.  Explain  how  one  justified  is  afterward  forgiven. 

12.  What  the  end,  or  purpose,  of  God  in  the  blessings,  as  in 
election,  foreordination  and  grace? 

13.  Distinguish  between  the  "we"  and  the  "ye"  m  1 :  13,  and 
give  the  process  in  each. 


SALVATION  CORNERSTONES  87 

14.  Why  is  the  Holy  Spirit  called  the  "Spirit  of  promise"  and 
cite  both  Old  Testament  and  New  Testament  instances  of  the 
promise,  and  when  was  the  promise  fulfilled? 

15.  Explain  the  "seal"  in  i :  13,  what  it  is,  when  and  by  whom 
done,  and  the  purpose. 

16.  Explain  "earnest"  in  i :  14. 

17.  How  may  we  subjectively  know  or  be  assured  that  we  are 
adopted  ? 


IX 

CHRIST'S  ATONEMENT  AND  PAUL'S  PRAYER 
Scripture:  Eph.  i :  15-21 

BEFORE  taking  up  this  part  of  the  exposition  I  will 
answer  a  question  arising  from  the  discussion  in  the 
previous  chapter,  viz. :  "Did  Christ  expiate  the  sins 
of  all  men,  or  the  sins  of  the  elect  only,  and  does  not  uni- 
versal expiation  demand  universal  salvation  ?"  This  question 
belongs  to  the  department  of  systematic  theology.  Without 
desire  to  intrude  into  that  department,  yet  as  Biblical  theology 
cannot  be  altogether  separated  from  the  teaching  of  the 
English  Bible,  I  submit  a  reply  for  the  benefit  of  those  who 
may  never  study  systematic  theology.  It  is  every  way  a 
difficult  question,  and  calls  out  in  its  answer  all  the  theories 
of  the  atonement  advocated  in  the  Christian  ages.  In  gen- 
eral terms  it  is  the  old  question — is  the  atonement  general 
or  limited?  Perhaps  no  man  has  ever  given  a  precise 
answer  satisfactory  to  his  own  mind  even,  and  it  is  certain 
no  one  has  ever  satisfied  all  others. 

It  must  be  sufficient  for  present  purposes  to  deal  with 
the  question  briefly,  relegating  to  systematic  theology  the 
critical  and  extended  reply  derived  from  a  comparison  of 
all  the  prominent  theories  of  the  atonement  in  the  light  of 
the  scriptures.  The  following  passages  of  scripture  doubt- 
less suggest  the  question :  Heb.  2 :  9,  "Jesus  hath  been  made 
a  little  lower  than  the  angels  *  *  *  that  by  the  grace  of 
God  He  should  taste  death  for  every  man."  There  must  be 
some  real  sense,  some  gracious  sense,  in  which  He  tasted 
death  for  every  man.     I  Tim.  4:9,  10:    "Faithful  is  the 

88 


CHRIST'S  ATONEMENT  89 

saying  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation.  For  to  this  end  we 
labor  and  strive,  because  we  have  our  hope  set  on  the  living 
God,  who  is  the  Savior  of  all  men,  specially  of  them  that 
believe."  Here  again  it  is  evident  that  God  in  some  real 
sense  is  the  Savior  of  all  men,  but  not  in  the  special  sense 
in  which  He  is  the  Savior  of  believers.  A  more  pertinent 
passage  is  I  John  2 : 2,  "And  he  [Jesus  Christ]  is  the  pro- 
pitiation for  our  sins ;  and  not  for  ours  only,  hut  also  for 
the  whole  world." 

The  first  question  is  answered  here  if  anywhere.  The 
question  is,  **Did  Christ  expiate  the  sins  of  all  men?"  And 
this  passage  says,  "He  is  the  propitiation  for  the  sins  of 
the  whole  world."  Further  on  in  the  letter  (4 :  14)  John 
says,  "And  we  have  beheld  and  bear  witness  that  the  Father 
hath  sent  the  Son  to  be  the  Savior  of  the  world,"  this  lan- 
guage doubtless  referring  back  to  John  i :  29,  "On  the  mor- 
row he  [John  the  Baptist]  seeth  Jesus  coming  unto  him, 
and  sayeth,  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world!"  Here  "Lamb  of  God,"  the  vicarious 
sacrifice,  and  "taketh  away  the  sin,"  must  refer  to  the  expia- 
tion in  some  real  sense.  Moreover,  it  accords  with  "God  so 
loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  on  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
eternal  life,"  and  quadrates  particularly  with  the  sincerity 
of  the  great  commission  in  Matt.  28:  19  and  Mark  16:  16, 
and  the  intense  earnestness  with  which  the  apostles  pressed 
home  upon  every  heart  the  duty  and  privilege  of  all  men 
to  accept  the  salvation  offered. 

The  case  of  Paul  is  much  in  point,  because  of  the  use  of 
the  very  word  in  question,  H  Cor.  5 :  18-20,  "But  all  things 
are  of  God,  who  reconciled  us  to  himself  through  Christ, 
and  gave  unto  us  the  ministry  of  reconciliation;  towit,  that 
God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  nnto  himself,  not 
reckoning  unto  them  their  trespasses,  and  having  committed 
unto  us  the  word  of  reconciliation.     We  are  ambassadors 


90       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

therefore  on  behalf  of  Christ,  as  though  God  were  entreating 
by  us :  we  beseech  you  on  behalf  of  Christ,  be  ye  reconciled 
to  God."  This  particular  passage  is  the  more  pertinent 
and  important  since  it  discriminates  so  clearly  between  the 
two  reconciliations,  towit:  (i)  God  was  reconciled  to  us 
through  the  expiation  of  Christ,  satisfying  the  claims  of 
justice  and  placating  the  wrath  of  the  law  on  account  of  sin. 
(2)  Our  reconciliation  to  God  through  acceptance  of  Christ 
tendered  in  the  ministry  of  the  Word. 

Here  it  is  evident  that  expiation  becomes  effective  to  us 
through  faith  in  Christ.  And  it  is  perfectly  clear  from  many 
scriptures  that  no  matter  in  what  sense  expiation  was  effec- 
tive toward  God  for  all  men,  it  cannot  result  in  universal 
salvation,  since  "he  that  believeth  not,  shall  be  damned." 
The  second  question  is  answered,  towit:  No  matter  in 
what  sense  expiation  was  for  all  men  Godward,  it  can  avail 
to  us  ward  by  faith  alone.  The  question  of  universal  sal- 
vation is  not  therefore  bound  up  with  reconciliation  God- 
ward,  whatever  its  extent,  but  with  the  ministry  of  recon- 
ciliation and  our  acceptance  or  rejection  of  the  tendered 
mercy.  Speculate,  theorize,  philosophize  as  we  may  on  the 
extent  of  the  atonement  Godward,  we  are  shut  up  peremp- 
torily by  the  scriptures  to  the  conclusion  that  "he  that  believ- 
eth not,  shall  be  damned." 

It  is  the  opinion  of  the  author  that  universal  or  limitedi 
salvation  is  not  connected  with  the  atonement  Godward, 
but  with  the  ministry  of  reconciliation.  In  other  words, 
the  question  is  not,  ''Unto  how  many  was  God  reconciled 
through  Christ?"  hut,  "How  many  of  us  are  reconciled  to 
God  through  faith  in  Christ f" 

It  seems  to  the  author  that  the  crux  of  the  whole  matter 
lies  in  three  thoughts:  (i)  That  in  the  final  judgment  the 
supreme  test  for  men  and  angels  is  the  question,  "What 
was  your  attitude  toward  Christ,  either  in  himself,  His 
people,  or  His  cause?"     See  particularly  Matt.  25:31-46, 


CHRIST'S  ATONEMENT  91 

where  this  principle  is  appHed  to  all  men.  And  see  I  Cor. 
6 : 3,  where  the  test  is  implied  toward  angels,  else  saints 
could  not  judge  them.  Again,  this  decisive  principle  of  the 
final  judgment  is  expressly  taught  in  Matt.  12:41,  42  in 
the  reference  to  the  men  of  Nineveh  and  the  Queen  of 
Sheba,  and  yet  again  in  our  Lord's  denunciation  of  the  Gali- 
lean cities,  Matt.  11:21-24.  (2)  The  second  thought  lies 
in  our  Lord's  teaching  that  only  one  sin  is  an  eternal  sin, 
having  never  forgiveness  in  either  world,  Mark  3 :  28-30 ; 
Matt.  12:31,  32,  showing  that  condemnation  comes  from 
action  in  the  Spirit's  realm  of  application.  See  the  culmi- 
nation of  unpardonable  sin  in  "doing  despite  to  the  Spirit 
of  grace"  in  Heb.  10 :  26-29.  (3)  The  effect  of  the  death  on 
the  cross  conferred  on  the  Messiah,  i.  e.,  not  the  Son  of 
God  in  eternity,  but  the  Son  of  God  by  procreation,  born 
of  the  Virgin  Mary,  the  sovereignty  of  the  universe.  See 
Phil.  2:5-11. 

I  hold  James  P.  Boyce  to  be  the  greatest  all-around  Bap- 
tist ever  produced  by  the  South.  While  in  his  "Systematic 
Theology"  he  teaches  that  expiation  of  the  sins  of  all  men 
must  mean  universal  salvation,  yet  before  he  closes  his  dis- 
cussion he  uses  these  remarkable  words,  which  I  cite : 

(i)  "While  for  the  elect  He  made  an  actual  atonement, 
by  which  they  are  actually  reconciled  to  God,  and  because 
of  which  are  made  the  subjects  of  the  special  divine  grace 
by  which  they  became  believers  in  Christ,  and  are  justified 
through  Him,"  (2)  "Christ  at  the  same  time  and  in  the 
same  work,  wrought  out  a  means  of  reconciliation  for  all 
men,  which  removed  every  legal  obstacle  to  their  salvation, 
upon  their  acceptance  of  the  same  conditions  upon  which 
the  salvation  is  given  to  the  elect."  "Abstract  of  Theology," 
revised  by  F.  H.  Kerfoot,  page  296.  (3)  On  page  297  he 
says,  "The  atoning  work  of  Christ  was  not  sufficient  for  the 
salvation  of  man.  That  work  was  only  Godward,  and  only 
removed  all  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  God's  pardon  of 


92       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

the  sinner.  But  the  sinner  is  also  at  enmity  with  God,  and 
must  be  brought  to  accept  salvation,  and  must  learn  to  love 
and  serve  God.  It  is  the  special  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  bring  this  about.  The  first  step  here  is  to  make  known 
to  man  the  gospel,  which  contains  the  glad  tidings  of  salva- 
tion under  such  influences  as  ought  to  lead  to  its  acceptance." 
For  the  purpose  of  comment  I  mark  these  paragraphs 
(i),  (2)  and  (3).  It  seems  difficult  to  reconcile  (i)  with 
(3)  but  (2)  and  (3)  are  in  perfect  harmony.  In  (i)  he 
says  that  "for  the  elect  He  made  actual  atonement"  *  *  * 
"they  were  actually  reconciled  to  God."  But  in  (3)  he 
says  that  the  atoning  work  was  not  sufficient  for  the  salva- 
tion of  man,  that  work  was  only  Godward,  and  only  removed 
all  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  God's  pardon  for  the  sinner." 
This  language  applies  of  course  to  the  elect.  But  in  (2)  he 
says,  ''Christ  wrought  out  a  means  of  reconciliation  for  all 
men  which  removed  every  legal  obstacle  to  their  salvation** 
Then  for  the  elect  the  atonement  "was  not  sufficient  for  the 
salvation  of  man"  and  "only  removed  all  the  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  God's  pardon  for  the  sinner,"  and  if  for  the  non- 
elect  the  atonement  "wrought  out  a  means  of  reconciliation," 
"removing  every  legal  obstacle  to  their  salvation,"  what  is 
the  difference  Godward?  What  is  the  difference  so  far  as 
Christ's  work  is  concerned?  Does  not  the  difference  come 
in  the  Spirit's  work  in  connection  with  the  application  of 
the  atonement  and  the  ministry  of  reconciliation?  Do  elec- 
tion and  foreordination  become  operative  toward  atonement 
or  toward  acceptance  of  the  atonement?  These  questions 
are  submitted  for  consideration  in  the  realm  of  the  study 
of  systematic  theology.  The  author  does  not  dogmatize  on 
them.  While  he  has  only  a  very  moderate  respect  for  phi- 
losophy in  any  of  its  departments  as  taught  in  the  schools, 
and  prefers  rather  to  accept  every  word  of  God  without 
speculation,  and  believes  it  true  and  harmonious  in  all  its 
parts,  whether  or  not  he  is  able  to  philosophically  explain 


CHRIST'S  ATONEMENT  93 

it,  yet  he  submits  merely  for  consideration  along  with  other 
human  philosophizing  on  the  atonement  the  philosophy  of 
Dr.  Wm.  C.  Buck  on  this  matter.  It  is  found  in  his  book, 
"The  Philosophy  of  Religion."  On  the  question  of  general 
or  limited  atonement  he  takes  this  position,  as  I  recall  it: 
Jesus  Christ  through  His  death  re-purchased  or  bought 
back  the  whole  lost  human  race,  including  the  earth,  man's 
habitat.  The  whole  of  it  and  all  its  peoples  passed  thereby 
under  His  sovereignty.  What  debt  they  once  owed  to  the 
law  they  now  owe  to  Him,  the  surety  who  paid  the  debt. 
From  His  mediatorial  throne  He  offers  to  forgive  this  debt 
now  due  Him  to  all  who  will  accept  Him.  But  all  alike 
reject  Him.  The  Father,  through  the  Spirit,  graciously 
inclines  some  to  accept  Him.  Thus  those  really  saved  are 
saved  according  to  the  election  and  foreordination  of  God, 
not  operative  in  the  atonement  which  was  general,  but  in 
the  Spirit's  application  which  was  special.  Those  thus  saved 
were  originally  promised  by  the  Father  to  the  Son.  He 
dies  for  the  whole  world  as  the  expression  of  the  Father's 
universal  love.  He  died  for  the  elect.  His  church,  as  His 
promised  reward. 

Dr.  Buck  illustrates,  so  far  as  such  an  illustration  can 
serve,  by  supposing  a  raid  by  Algerian  pirates  on  a  Spanish 
village,  leading  a  multitude  into  captivity  in  Moorish  North 
Africa.  A  philanthropist,  touched  by  their  piteous  condi- 
tion, ransoms  all  of  them  by  one  price,  and  now,  owning 
them  all,  offers  remission  of  the  debt  and  free  passage  back 
to  native  Spain  to  all  who  will  accept.  Some  prefer  bond- 
age and  remain,  others  accept  joyfully  and  go  back  home. 
Of  course  this  illustration  takes  no  account  of  the  Father's 
work  or  the  Spirit's  work,  touching  only  the  question  of 
ransom  for  all,  the  passing  of  the  debt  over  to  the  surety, 
his  sovereignty,  in  its  remission  and  their  acceptance  or 
rejection. 

Let  us  do  with  this  or  any  other  philosophy  what  we  will, 


94       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

but  let  us  not  hesitate  to  accept  all  that  the  scriptures  teach 
on  this  matter.  When  we  read  John  lo:  14-16;  11 :  26-29; 
Acts  13 :  48 ;  Rom.  8 :  28-39  J  Eph.  5 :  25-32,  let  us  not  abate 
one  jot  of  their  clear  teaching  of  Christ's  death  for  the  elect 
and  their  certain  salvation.  And  when  we  read  John  i :  29 ; 
3:16;!  Tim.  4:10;  Heb.  2:9;!  John  2:2;  Ezek.  33 : 1 1 ; 
Matt.  28 :  19 ;  I  Tim.  2 : 4,  let  us  beware  lest  our  theory,  or 
philosophy,  of  the  atonement  constrain  us  to  question  God's 
sincerity,  and  disobey  His  commands.  There  are  many  true 
things  in  and  out  of  the  Bible  beyond  our  satisfactory 
explanation.  Let  faith  apprehend  even  where  the  finite 
mind  cannot  comprehend. 

The  exposition  proper  commences  with  the  third  item  of 
the  analysis,  which  is  the  thanksgiving.  On  that  item  we 
have  only  verse  15  of  chapter  i:  "For  this  cause  I  also, 
having  heard  of  the  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  which  is  among 
you,  and  the  love  which  ye  show  toward  all  the  saints,  cease 
not  to  give  thanks  for  you."  We  can  see  that  there  are  two 
things  for  which  he  is  thankful:  First,  their  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  second,  their  love  for  all  the  saints. 

We  come  now  to  the  first  great  prayer,  the  fourth  item 
in  the  analysis,  which  extends  from  i :  16  to  i :  21 :  "Making 
mention  of  you  in  my  prayers;  that  the  God  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Father  of  glory,"  etc.  That  is  the  person 
to  whom  he  prays.  We  may  say,  "Of  course  he  prays  to 
God."  But  successful  prayer  has  its  relation  to  Jesus  Christ. 
Paul  says,  "I  pray  to  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Father  of  glory."  That  settles  the  first  point — 
to  whom  does  he  pray?  The  next  thing  is,  for  what  does 
he  pray  ?  "May  give  unto  you  a  spirit  of  wisdom  and  reve- 
lation in  the  knowledge  of  Him;  having  the  eyes  of  your 
heart  enlightened."  That  is  what  he  prays  for,  "a  spirit  of 
wisdom  and  revelation,  having  the  eyes  of  your  heart  en- 
lightened." We  can  put  in  one  word  the  whole  thing.  That 
word  is  "illumination."    "I  pray  that  you  may  be  illumined." 


CHRIST'S  ATONEMENT  95 

There  are  three  terms — revelation,  Inspiration,  and  illumi- 
nation. Revelation  discloses  that  which  we  could  not  other- 
wise know.  Inspiration  infallibly  records  it.  Illumination 
causes  us  to  understand  it.  Some  people  read  the  Bible 
and  find  in  it  nothing  to  them.  But  consider  these  passages : 
"Open  thou  mine  eyes  that  I  may  understand  the  wonderful 
things  in  thy  law."  "The  Lord  opened  the  heart  of  Lydia 
so  that  she  attended  unto  the  things  spoken  by  Paul." 

Illumination,  then,  is  that  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  which 
causes  one  to  get  the  real  spiritual  meanings  of  the  Bible. 
Time  and  again  have  I  come  to  some  passage  and  said, 
"That  looks  like  it  was  intended  to  mean  much,  but  some- 
how I  cannot  get  hold  of  it."  It  was  like  a  fog  to  me,  and 
I  could  not  see  the  real  spiritual  meaning.  I  have  long 
since  found  out  that  mere  intellectual  study  does  not  find 
the  meaning.  The  Spirit  indited  that  passage  and  the  Spirit 
knows  what  it  means ;  for  us  to  understand  it,  an  opening 
of  the  eyes  of  the  heart  must  take  place.  Paul  prays  for 
these  people  to  whom  he  writes,  that  they  may  have  illumi- 
nation, that  is,  "the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation  in  the 
knowledge  of  Him,"  or  as  he  otherwise  expressed  it,  "the 
opening  of  the  eyes  of  the  heart."  Illumination  covers  the 
whole  thing.    That  is  what  he  prays  for. 

The  next  question  is,  What  the  end  or  object  of  that 
illumination?  Why  should  he  pray  that  they  might  re- 
ceive illumination?  "That  ye  may  know."  Let  us  see  what 
are  the  things  that  they  were  to  know.  They  are  as  follows : 
(i)  "The  hope  of  His  calling."  (2)  "The  riches  of  the 
glory  of  His  inheritance  in  the  saints."  (3)  "The  exceeding 
greatness  of  His  power  toward  us."  These  are  the  things 
that  he  prays  for — that  they  might  receive  Illumination  and 
know  these  three  things.  That  through  illumination  they 
were  to  know:  (i)  The  hope  of  their  caUing.  Hope  here 
is  used  objectively ;  it  means  the  things  hoped  for,  to  which 
we  are  called;  (2)  that  we  may  know  what  the  things  are 


96       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

that  God  called  us  to ;  (3)  and  what  we  hope  for.  That  is  a 
great  prayer. 

In  the  Letter  to  the  Hebrews  the  thought  is  presented  this 
way :  "Ye  are  come  unto  Mount  Zion,  and  unto  the  city  of 
the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem."  That  is  the  place 
we  are  coming  to.  We  are  coming  unto  this  companion- 
ship: (i)  Angels — an  innumerable  company.  (2)  The 
general  assembly  of  the  church  of  the  firstborn.  (3) 
The  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect.  (4)  To  God,  the 
judge  of  all.  (5)  To  Jesus,  the  mediator  of  the  new  cov- 
enant. (6)  To  the  blood  of  sprinkling  that  speaketh  better 
than  that  of  Abel.  Now  his  prayer  is  that  they  may  be 
illumined  in  order  that  they  may  know  the  riches  of  the 
inheritance  that  is  laid  up  in  heaven  for  the  saints.  The 
reason  so  many  Christians  are  weak  and  fruitless  is  that 
they  have  no  grip  on  the  things  extended  to  the  hope  of  the 
Christian.  The  powers  of  the  world  to  come  do  not  take 
hold  of  them. 

I  heard  a  most  estimable  lady-member  of  the  church  say 
once,  "Heaven  ?  Oh,  -I  do  not  know  anything  about  it !  It 
is  'way  off  yonder,  very  vague!"  I  said,  "My  sister,  if 
heaven  was  vague  to  me  I  could  not  preach.  I  know  what  I 
am  hoping  for.  I  have  clear  conceptions  of  the  world  to 
come:  the  place,  state,  company,  joy,  all  is  clear  in  my 
mind,  and  in  that  way  it  attracts." 

To  illustrate:  "Jesus  Christ,  for  the  joy  that  was  set 
before  Him,  endured  the  cross  and  despised  the  shame." 
Take  the  case  of  Moses.  How  was  it  that  he  was  enabled 
to  refuse  to  become  the  son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter?  "He 
had  respect  unto  the  recompense  of  reward."  He  saw 
something  better  than  the  pleasures  of  sin.  He  saw  some- 
thing more  durable  than  the  riches  and  glory  of  this  world. 
What  was  it  that  enabled  Abraham  to  bear  up,  wandering 
about,  living  in  a  tent?  "He  sought  a  city  which  hath 
foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God."     So  Paul, 


CHRIST'S  ATONEMENT  97 

seeing  that  they  had  faith  and  love  toward  the  brethren, 
prayed  that  they  might  be  illumined  to  know  the  things  which 
a  Christian  hopes  for,  and  to  which  he  is  called. 

I  delight  to  preach  on  heaven.  There  is  a  tremendous 
power  over  the  mind  and  heart  in  it.  If  a  man  does  not 
know  the  hope  of  his  calling,  there  is  not  the  incentive  to 
action  which  comes  from  the  hope  of  reward.  The  mind 
of  man  is  influenced  by  motives — the  hope  of  reward  and 
the  fear  of  punishment. 

Once  when  I  was  preaching  at  Belton,  not  getting  results, 

I  went  out  and  prayed  three  times  that  God  might  make 
me,  the  preacher,  realize  the  nearness  and  certainty  and 
eternity  of  both  heaven  and  hell.  When  I  got  that  in  my 
mind  and  heart  the  revival  broke  out,  heaven  came  down, 
and  we  were  in  the  glory  of  the  mercy  seat.  A  Methodist 
preacher  who  was  there  said  he  had  to  take  hold  of  a  table 
to  keep  from  shouting. 

"I  pray  that  ye  may  be  enabled  to  know  what  are  the 
riches  of  the  glory  of  His  inheritance  in  the  saints."  Mark 
well  the  distinction  between  the  first  and  second  thing  that 
he  prayed  for.  The  first  related  to  their  inheritance  in 
Christ,  the  object  of  their  hope.  The  second  related  to 
Christ's  inheritance  in  them.  We  should  know  both.  Does 
that  distinction  suggest  anything  at  all  ?  Is  it  not  clear  that 
Christ  had  an  object  when  He  died?  There  was  a  joy  set 
before  Him  so  precious  that  He  was  willing  to  bear  all  things 
for  it.    Here  are  two  scriptures  that  will  give  an  idea  of  it : 

II  Thess.  I :  lo,  "When  He  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in 
His  saints,  and  to  be  marvelled  at  in  all  them  that  believed, 
in  that  day."  Christ's  glory  is  to  be  in  His  saints — not  as 
we  are  on  earth,  but  as  the  finished  product  will  be  up 
yonder  in  heaven.  Then  take  this  passage  in  Eph.  5 :  2^, 
"That  He  might  present  the  church  to  himself  a  glorious 
church,  not  having  spot  or  wrinkle  or  any  such  thing;  but 
that  it  should  be  holy  and  without  blemish."    The  inherit- 


98       COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

ance  of  Christ  in  His  saints  stood  as  an  incentive  to  bear 
their  sins.    He  had  an  interest  in  them. 

One  of  the  most  wonderful  buildings  in  the  world  is 
Westminster  Abbey.  As  we  step  into  that  building  we  see 
this  inscription:  "Whosoever  would  see  a  monument  to 
Sir  Christopher  Wren,  look  around."  Sir  Christopher  Wren 
was  the  architect,  and  a  real  monument  to  him  was  that 
building.  A  sculptor,  when  he  undertakes  to  make  a  fine 
piece  of  work,  first  goes  to  the  quarry  or  marble  yard  and 
selects  a  piece  of  marble  of  fine  texture — a  great,  big,  un- 
couth block.  He  stands  there  and  looks  at  it  and  thinks  out 
his  plan,  and  at  last  he  sees  an  angel  in  it.  He  goes  to  work 
with  his  mallet  and  chisel,  lopping  off  here  and  there,  and 
after  a  while  it  begins  to  assume  shape;  we  see  the  head, 
then  the  wings,  then  the  feet,  and  when  the  finishing  touches 
are  put  on  we  stand  in  the  presence  of  an  angel  that  looks 
like  it  could  breathe,  fly  and  talk. 

So  when  Christ's  work  is  completed,  the  body  raised, 
then  we  see  the  inheritance  that  Christ  has  in  the  saints. 
The  best  person  in  the  world,  taken  as  he  is,  after  grace 
has  done  so  much,  is,  after  all,  an  imperfect  recommenda- 
tion of  Christ.  But  when  Jesus  is  done  with  him,  his  body 
has  been  raised  and  glorified,  the  spirit  sanctified  and  made 
perfect,  with  all  mortality,  corruption  and  dishonor  gone,  in 
all  beauty  and  holiness  like  Him — not  one,  not  hundreds, 
not  thousands,  but  a  great  multitude  that  no  man  can  num- 
ber— each  one  with  a  crown  upon  his  head,  each  one  with 
a  harp  in  his  left  hand,  and  a  palm  leaf  of  victory  in  his 
right  hand,  and  each  one  praising  God — that  is  Christ's 
inheritance  in  the  saints.  Paul  says,  "I  want  you  to  know 
that."  We  ought  to  know  it  for  our  own  sakes,  because  our 
conception  of  heaven  will  determine  the  kind  of  respect  we 
have  for  heaven.  If  our  aspiration  is  to  be  only  an  ordinary 
man,  we  will  not  have  much  self-respect,  but  we  should 
have  a  burning  in  our  heart,  "This  is  not  the  best  of  me. 


CHRIST'S  ATONEMENT  99 

Ah,  no!  I  have  climbed  the  mountain  somewhat,  but,  like 
Paul,  I  must  say,  'Higher!  Higher!  Excelsior!'  After  a 
while  I  will  sit  on  God's  throne  and  judge  the  world,  judge 
the  angels;"  that  is  the  thing  we  must  know. 

Let  us  take  the  next  thing  we  must  know:  "And  what 
the  exceeding  greatness  of  His  power  toward  us  who  be- 
lieve." We  must  know,  if  we  are  illumined,  "the  greatness 
of  His  power  toward  us  who  believe."  He  illustrates  thus : 
"According  to  that  working  of  the  strength  of  His  might 
which  He  wrought  in  Christ  when  He  raised  Him  from 
the  dead,  and  made  Him  to  sit  at  His  right  hand  in  heavenly 
places,  made  Him  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords."  That 
power  will  be  exercised  toward  believers.  We  may  die  away 
off  by  ourselves;  the  world  may  not  even  know  that  we 
have  lived;  no  monument  may  mark  our  resting  place;  in 
our  last  illness  no  loving  hand  may  be  there  to  wipe  the 
death  damp  from  our  brow,  but  if  we  are  children  of  God, 
we  ought  to  know  what  is  the  exceeding  greatness  of  His 
power  toward  us. 

That  unknown  grave  will  open;  the  angels  will  come  down; 
that  body  will  he  raised  and  glorified  and  reunited  with  the 
spirit,  taken  to  the  throne  in  heaven  and  made  joint  heir 
with  Christ  upon  the  throne  of  the  universe. 

But  his  primary  meaning  is  not  directed  to  our  bodily 
resurrection.  He  means  that  in  our  inward  development 
as  Christians  the  power  exerted  shall  be  as  the  power  that 
raised  our  Lord's  dead  body. 

Let  us  sum  up  this  first  great  prayer :  ( i )  Unto  whom  ? 
God,  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  (2)  For  what? 
Illumination,  expressed  here  as  the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and 
revelation,  an  enlightenment  of  the  eyes  of  the  heart.  (3) 
To  what  end?  That  they  might  know  the  hope  of  their 
calling;  that  they  might  know  the  riches  of  the  glory  of 
Christ's  inheritance  in  the  saints ;  that  they  might  know  the 
greatness  of  His  power  toward  believers. 


100     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 


QUESTIONS 

1.  What  double  question  of  systematic  theology  arises  here? 

2.  What  old  theological  question  does  this  question  revive,  and 
what  theories  ? 

3.  What  scriptures  were  cited  as  bearing  on  the  first  part  of  the 
question  ? 

4.  What  the  special  value,  as  bearing  on  this  question,  of  II 
Cor,  5:  18-20? 

5.  What  passage  makes  it  clear  that  no  matter  whether  expiation 
be  for  all  men  or  for  the  elect,  universal  salvation  does  not  follow? 

6.  In  what  three  thoughts  lies  the  crux  of  the  whole  matter, 
according  to  the  author's  judgment,  and  what  the  scriptures  under- 
lying each  thought? 

7.  ^  Cite  the  three  passages  from  Boyce's  "Systematic  Theology," 
and  give  your  own  view  of  their  harmony  with  each  other. 

8.  On  the  whole,  then,  do  election  and  foreordination  become 
operative  or  effective  toward  atonement,  whether  general  or  limited, 
or  toward  the  Spirit's  application  of  the  atonement? 

9.  _  State  the  view  of  Dr.  William  C.  Buck,  in  his  "Philosophy  of 
Religion,"  and  give  his  illustration. 

10.  Whatever  man's  philosophy,  or  theory  of  the  atonement,  what 
is  our  plain  duty  toward  the  scriptures  cited  pro  and  con  ? 

11.  What  the  distinction  between  "apprehend"  and  "comprehend," 
and  are  there  many  things  in  the  scriptures  we  must  apprehend,  even 
though  we  may  not  comprehend? 

12.  For  what  two  things  does  the  apostle  express  thanks? 

13.  On  the  first  great  prayer,  1:16-21,  answer:  (i)  To  whom? 
(2)  For  what? 

14.  What  one  word  covers  all  he  prayed  for? 

15.  Distinguish  between  revelation,  inspiration  and  illumination. 

16.  Define  illumination  and  give  its  purpose,  or  end. 

17.  What  three  great  things  will  the  illumination  enable  us  to 
know? 

18.  Distinguish  between  the  first  and  the  second. 

19.  What  the  meaning  of  the  first? 

20.  What  the  meaning  of  the  second?     Illustrate. 

21.  What  the  meaning  of  the  third? 


CHRIST  THE  HEAD  OF  THE  CHURCH 
Scripture:   Eph.  1:22 — 2:10 

WE  now  come  to  that  part  of  the  analysis,  item  5, 
Christ's  exaltation  and  its  purpose  toward  the 
church,  1 :  22,  23.  These  two  verses  express  the 
following  thoughts :  Christ  exalted,  first,  to  be  the  head  of 
the  church ;  second,  to  be  head  over  all  things  to  the  church, 
which  is  a  very  different  idea ;  third,  that  the  church  is  the 
body ;  fourth,  as  His  body  the  church  expresses  His  fulness. 

Christ  exalted  to  be  the  head  of  the  church. — "Head" 
expresses,  first,  sovereignty,  or  rulership.  When  we  say 
the  husband  is  the  head  of  the  family,  we  mean  he  is  the 
ruler  of  the  family.  Head  expresses  in  the  next  sense  the 
source  of  vital  connection.  In  this  Letter  to  the  Ephesians, 
as  we  will  find  a  little  later,  that  vital  connection  between 
the  head  and  every  member  of  the  body  is  greatly  empha- 
sized and  elaborated. 

If  Christ  is  the  head  of  the  church  in  the  sense  of  sover- 
eign or  ruler,  then  it  is  impious  to  call  anybody  else  the 
head  of  the  church.  Some  claim  to  be  the  head  of  the 
church  in  the  sense  of  vicegerent,  or  vicar.  For  example,  the 
Pope  claims  to  be  the  head  of  the  church  in  that  he  is  Christ's 
vicar. 

The  only  vicar  that  Christ  has  is  the  Holy  Spirit.  When 
Jesus  went  up  to  heaven  He  did  send  a  vicegerent  to  take 
His  place;  another  Paraclete  to  abide  with  and  to  guide  the 
church.  It  is  blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Spirit  for  a  mere 
man  to  claim  to  be  the  head  of  the  church. 

101 


lOa     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

Spurgeon  in  his  many  volumes  of  sermons  has  one  polem- 
ical volume.  One  of  the  sermons  in  that  polemical  volume 
is  the  most  excoriating  denunciation  of  the  claim  that  the 
sovereign  of  England  is  head  of  the  church  that  I  have  ever 
seen.  He  read  a  proclamation:  "I,  Victoria  Regina,  by 
the  grace  of  God  head  of  the  church."  Then  immediately 
following  that  he  quoted  Paul's  words:  "I  suffer  not  a 
woman  to  teach  nor  to  usurp  authority."  Everybody  should 
read,  particularly,  that  eighth  volume  of  Spurgeon's  ser- 
mons. The  greater  part  of  Christendom  today  is  under 
bondage  to  the  thought  that  the  Pope  of  Rome  is  the  head 
of  the  church.  They  mean  by  that  that  he  stands  in  the 
place  of  God,  and  that  whatever  he  speaks,  ex  cathedra,  is 
infallibly  true,  and  that  his  authority  is  ultimate. 

In  1870  the  cap-stone  was  put  on  the  Papacy  by  the 
Vatican  Council,  in  servile  obedience  to  the  Pope,  proclaim- 
ing his  infallibility  as  head  of  the  church.  The  head  of 
the  church  also  carries  with  it  the  idea  of  authority,  which 
is  called  the  key  of  power.  Christ  is  the  head  of  the  church. 
There  is  no  other.  We  see  on  earth  a  body,  but  the  head 
is  above  the  clouds;  we  cannot  see  it.  The  head  of  the 
church  is  in  heaven,  the  body  here  on  the  earth.  It  is  a 
vital  and  fundamental  article  of  the  Christian  faith  that 
we  should  accept  no  head  of  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ 
except  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself.  The  disciples  of 
Pythagoras  were  accustomed  to  end  a  controversy  by  saying, 
"Ipse  dixit  et  ipse  Pythagoras."  But  there  should  be  no 
question  of  absolute  deference  to  mere  human  authority. 

We  will  now  take  up  the  second  thought:  Christ  the 
head  over  all  things  to  the  church.  Not  the  head  of  the 
church;  we  have  just  discussed  that,  but  the  head  over  all 
things  to  the  church,  which  is  a  very  different  thought.  It 
means  that  by  virtue  of  His  sacrificial  expiation  here  upon 
the  earth,  and  the  atonement  made  in  heaven  based  upon 
that  expiation  on  the  cross.  He  received  the  name  which  is 


CHMST  HEAD  OF  THE  CHURCH        105 

above  every  name,  was  made  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of 
lords,  that  He  now  holds  in  His  hand  the  scepter  of  universal 
dominion,  and  that  He  is  over  all  things  to,  or  in  behalf  of, 
the  church. 

We  see  Him  express  this  thought  when  by  anticipation 
He  commands  His  church,  assembled  upon  a  mountain  in 
Galilee,  about  500  being  present,  to  go  out  and  preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature.  The  statement,  "And  all  author- 
ity in  heaven  and  upon  earth  is  given  unto  me,"  means  that 
He  is  the  head  of  all  things  to  the  church ;  that  He  exercises 
the  entire  sovereignty  of  the  universe  in  behalf  of  the 
church.  Oftentimes  when  we  get  a  little  frightened  or  blue, 
become  intimidated  either  by  the  formidable  adversaries 
with  whom  we  have  to  cope  or  by  the  insuperable  obstacles 
that  block  our  pathway,  we  are  prone  to  forget  that  the 
Savior  is  head  over  all  things  in  our  behalf ;  that  there  is 
nothing  hard  for  Him ;  that  when  it  comes  to  exercising  His 
power  in  behalf  of  the  church  there  are  no  limitations ;  that 
we  can  draw  on  Him  to  the  last  possibility. 

That  is  why  I  have  said  that  the  Texas  Baptist  Conven- 
tion once  foolishly  got  scared  over  a  little  financial  flurry, 
forgot  that  Jesus  is  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords.  They 
ought  to  have  gone  on  serenely  laying  out  their  work, 
having  faith  in  God,  who  is  able  to  raise  the  dead. 

Surely  if  God  could  in  the  wilderness  for  forty  years  feed 
so  many  families,  and  see  to  it  that  their  clothes  did  not 
wear  out,  that  there  was  a  shade  over  them  every  day  so 
that  the  sun  did  not  smite  them,  and  that  their  camp  was 
illumined  by  night — a  light  brighter  than  the  most  luminous 
display  of  electric  lights  in  the  cities  of  our  time — if  He 
could  call  rocks  to  open  and  send  forth  waters,  and  the  quail 
to  come  at  His  bidding,  and  angel's  food  to  fall  at  His  will, 
what  are  we,  Christ's  people  in  New  Testament  days,  that  we 
should  hesitate  on  account  of  difficulties  in  the  way  of  dis- 
charging duties  incumbent  upon  usf 


104     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

For  illustration,  I  recall  the  first  mission  rally  held  in 
Johnson  County.  I  prepared  the  program.  That  county 
was  in  danger  of  Antinomianism.  Some  of  the  noblest 
pastors  in  that  association  purposed  to  get  together  and 
sound  a  higher  note.  The  program  compared  missions  to 
a  suspension  bridge  across  a  mighty  river,  not  a  prop  under 
that  bridge  where  the  waters  rolled,  but  on  each  shore  there 
was  the  basis  for  the  support  of  the  bridge.  The  first 
pedestal  was  "All  authority  in  heaven  and  earth  is  given 
unto  me;"  on  the  other  shore  the  pedestal,  "Lo,  I  am  with 
you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  That  is,  if 
He  had  authority  and  power,  we  His  people  had  no  right 
to  hesitate  at  any  time  in  the  discharge  of  His  plain  com- 
mandments. That  is  what  is  meant  by  Christ's  being  the 
head  over  all  things  to  the  church.  Consider  carefully  what 
that  means.  Every  attribute  of  God  is  made  contribu- 
tory to  the  church — infinite  love,  infinite  justice,  infinite 
compassion,  omnipotence,  omniscience,  omnipresence,  all 
engaged  to  help  the  church  in  the  accomplishment  of  its 
mission.  Note  carefully  that  this  headship  is  headship  of 
an  organization. 

But  we  come  next  to  a  new  thought — that  the  church  is 
His  body.  Wherever  that  expression  occurs  it  implies  not 
so  much  an  organization  as  an  organism.  An  organism  is 
a  living  thing.  John  the  Baptist,  after  he  was  beheaded, 
had  no  life.  There  was  a  vital  relation  between  the  body 
of  John  the  Baptist  and  his  head.  When  his  head  was 
severed  his  body  died.  In  the  Letter  to  the  Romans,  again 
in  the  first  Letter  to  the  Corinthians,  again  in  the  Letter  to 
the  Colossians,  and  pre-eminently  in  this  Letter  to  the  Ephe- 
sians,  the  church  is  called  the  body  of  Christ,  which  means 
that  whatever  sense  of  the  word  be  employed,  then  Christ  is 
the  head. 

Some  people  unnecessarily  trouble  themselves  in  trying  to 
apply  the  double  sense  of  headship  to  the  triple  sense  of 


CHRIST  HEAD  OF  THE  CHURCH         105 

the  church.    That  is,  the  word  church  is  used  in  the  New 
Testament  in  three  distinct  senses : 

1.  Abstractly  as  an  institution,  Matt.  i6:  i8. 

2.  A  particular  congregation  at  one  place,  I  Cor.  i :  2. 

3.  All  the  redeemed  conceived  of  as  a  unit  and  glorified 
as  a  bride  or  city,  Eph.  5 :  25-27  and  Rev.  21 : 9,  10.  In 
applying  this  headship  we  say  that  Christ  is  the  head  of  the 
church,  and  head  over  all  things  to  the  church  as  an  institu- 
tion, or  as  a  particular  congregation,  or  as  the  general  assem- 
bly of  the  redeemed  in  glory. 

We  now  come  to  the  last  thought  in  that  paragraph,  "The 
fulness  of  Him  that  filleth  all  in  all."  The  church  is  the 
fulness.  If  I  want  a  true  conception  of  God  the  Father,  I 
look  at  Jesus:  "In  Him  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the 
Godhead  bodily,  the  express  image  of  the  person  of  God." 
If  I  want  a  true  conception  of  Jesus  Christ,  I  look  at  the 
church,  which  is  the  fulness  of  Christ,  the  fulness  of  author- 
ity, the  fulness  of  power,  the  fulness  of  divine  love,  and  the 
fulness  of  glory,  as  it  ultimately  will  be.  The  fulness  of 
Christ  in  the  church  is  very  much  like  the  thought  expressed 
in  "The  glory  of  His  inheritance  in  the  saints."  We  have 
already  noted  the  distinction  between  our  inheritance  in 
Christ  and  His  inheritance  in  us. 

To  see  the  fulness  of  Christ  in  the  church,  turn  to  the 
last  chapter  of  Revelation,  "And  I  saw  the  Holy  City,  new 
Jerusalem,  coming  down  out  of  heaven  from  God,  made 
ready  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband.  And  I  heard  a 
great  voice  out  of  the  throne  saying.  Behold,  the  tabernacle 
of  God  is  with  men,  and  He  shall  dwell  with  them,  and  they 
shall  be  His  peoples,  and  God  himself  shall  be  with  them, 
and  be  their  God ;  and  He  shall  wipe  away  every  tear  from 
their  eyes ;  and  death  shall  be  no  more ;  neither  shall  there 
be  mourning,  nor  crying,  nor  pain,  any  more:  the  first 
things  are  passed  away." 
i     Again  the  angel  asked  John  if  he  would  like  to  see  the 


106    COLOSSIANS,  I:PHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

Bride,  the  Lamb's  wife,  and  there  is  given  a  picture  of  the  re- 
deemed in  the  fulness  of  their  redemption.  If  when  that  time 
comes  one  should  ask,  "Where  shall  I  look  to  see  the  fulness 
of  the  Father?"  Look  at  Christ.  "Where  shall  I  look  to  see 
the  fulness  of  Christ?"  Look  at  that  church  in  glory.  Be- 
hold how  many  nations  are  represented  in  it !  See  the  ends  of 
the  earth  come  together  in  it.  Behold  how  many  varieties 
of  men,  some  very  great  men  intellectually,  and  some  very 
simple  folk;  some  very  wicked,  others  just  as  wicked  by 
nature,  who  were  not  so  wicked  by  practice,  but  now  all  are 
redeemed.  We  have  the  fulness  of  Christ  presented  in 
this,  that  all  peoples,  regardless  of  distinguishing  national- 
ities and  distinguishing  castes,  are  there.  As  the  Genesis- 
creation  was  an  expression  of  God,  so  that  "the  heavens  de- 
clare the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firmament  showeth  His 
handiwork,"  so  the  re-creation,  or  redemption,  will  more 
manifest  His  glory.  Not  one  of  them  but  has  arrived 
through  regeneration  and  glorification.  Not  one  of  them 
but  connects  back  with  the  eternal  foreknowledge,  elec- 
tion, and  predestination  of  God.  That  is  the  fulness  of 
Christ. 

The  next  item  of  our  analysis  is  salvation  by  grace, 
2:  i-io.  That  is  the  text  upon  which  Jerry  Clark,  in  some 
respects  the  greatest  preacher  in  Texas,  preached  his  famous 
sermon  before  the  General  Association  of  Texas  in  Waco 
when  I  was  a  young  pastor  there.  I  had  heard  a  great  deal 
about  Clark;  that  he  was  the  greatest  preacher  living,  if 
one  could  only  get  him  to  preach.  His  extreme  modesty 
made  him  an  expert  dodger.  One  of  his  friends  said,  "If 
you  want  Clark  to  preach  you  must  challenge  him  on  the 
doctrines  of  grace.  That  will  stir  him."  So  I  had  him 
assigned  to  my  house  and  set  a  trap  for  him.  In  a  private 
conversation  I  said  to  him  that  I  had  heard  of  preachers  who 
were  willing  enough  to  preach  salvation  by  grace  in  the 
backwoods,  but  would  shirk  if  called  upon  to  preach  it 


CHRIST  HEAD  OF  THE  CHURCH        107 

before  a  cultured  city  audience.  His  eye  flashed  fire  and 
he  said,  "I  am  not  afraid  to  preach  it  anywhere."  "Very 
well,  then,  you  are  appointed  to  preach  Sunday  night  from 
Ephesians  2:8-10."  He  preached  from  it  and  made  the 
stars  fairly  sparkle.  It  was  the  greatest  pulpit  classic  I 
ever  heard.    It  stirred  all  the  dry  bones  in  the  valley ! 

Salvation  by  grace!  The  first  thought  is,  "And  you  did 
He  make  alive  when  you  were  dead."  There  is  the  sinner, 
spiritually  as  dead  as  a  door  nail.  Has  a  dead  man  power 
in  himself,  pr  is  he  able  to  call  from  any  source  whatever 
the  power  to  start  to  be  alive?  That  is  the  question.  The 
declaration  is :  "When  you  were  dead  God  made  you  alive." 
That  is  what  old  theologians  called  regeneration.  I  do  not 
think  that  is  what  the  New  Testament  calls  regeneration, 
because  it  stops  short  of  a  full  idea  of  regeneration  as 
expressed  in  many  scriptures,  yet  it  is  that  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  which  makes  the  soul  sensitive.  It  is  a  new 
creation  and  is  antecedent  to  any  manifestation  of  life.  That 
is  perfectly  clear  in  the  teaching  of  the  scriptures. 

Of  course,  with  that  kind  of  a  start,  spiritually  dead,  if 
a  man  is  saved  at  all  he  is  saved  by  grace.  It  is  impossible 
for  a  dead  man  to  make  himself  alive.  Notice  how  that 
deadness  is  expressed  in  this  paragraph:  "And  were  by 
nature  children  of  wrath."  That  knocks  the  bottom  out  of 
the  thought  that  sin  consists  in  the  wilful  transgression  of 
a  known  commandment,  as  the  Arminians  say.  Sin  is  law- 
lessness, first  of  all— lawlessness  in  nature  before  there  have 
been  any  external  manifestations  in  overt  actions. 

We  may  take  a  baby  rattlesnake,  carry  him  home,  feed 
him  on  milk,  never  let  him  see  his  father  or  mother,  pet  him 
and  try  to  educate  him  out  of  his  nature.  As  that  snake 
grows  the  poison  secretes,  the  fangs  form,  and  the  rattles 
come,  and  if  we  were  to  put  him  in  heaven  he  would  throw 
himself  into  a  coil,  sound  his  alarm  and  strike  at  the  angels 
passing  by.    Why  ?  Because  the  snake  is  a  snake. 


108     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

This  sin  of  nature — of  depravity — digs  up  by  the  root 
any  idea  of  salvation  by  external  ordinances.  I  recall  an 
illustration  before  a  Sunday  School  by  Harvey  Chamberlain, 
who  desired  to  impress  the  lesson  in  John  3 :  7,  "Ye  must 
be  born  again."  He  had  provided  a  basin  of  water  with 
soap  and  a  sealed  bottle  of  ink,  and  called  on  the  little 
fellows  to  come  up  and  wash  the  black  off  of  that  bottle. 
The  outside  washing  only  revealed  the  blackness  yet  more. 
The  hollowest  sham  ever  imposed  upon  the  credulity  and 
gullibility  of  exceedingly  simple  folks  is  the  doctrine  of 
literally  washing  away  sins  in  baptism.  Grace  finds  us  by 
nature  the  children  of  wrath — that  is  the  original  sin.  Then 
it  found  us  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins — that  is  practice. 
From  that  basis  it  starts  by  making  alive,  or  making  sensitive, 
which  is  the  initial  touch  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  superinducing 
in  us  contrition,  or  Godly  sorrow  for  sin,  repentance,  or  a 
change  of  mind  toward  God  on  account  of  sin,  conversion, 
or  turning  from  sin,  and  faith  in  Christ.  So  we  are  bom 
anew. 

The  second  thought  is,  "dead  in  trespasses  and  sins." 
These  are  expressions  of  the  inward  nature,  and  sustain 
the  relation  of  fruit  to  the  tree.  They  are  symptomatic  of 
the  inward  state.  Our  Lord  declares  that  out  of  the  heart 
proceed  evil  thoughts,  evil  speech  and  evil  deeds. 

Notice  the  third  thought.  Dead  by  nature,  dead  by  actual 
trespasses  and  sins,  and  now  "walking  according  to  the 
course  of  this  world."  By  the  "course  of  this  world"  is 
meant  its  spiritual  trend  expressed  in  its  maxims  of  business, 
pleasure  and  every  form  of  selfishness.  It  erects  its  own 
shifting  standard  of  right  and  wrong.  It  leaves  God  out. 
Yea,  it  is  in  its  spirit  and  mind  the  enemy  of  God.  But  the 
course  of  the  world  is  not  the  result  of  chance. 

This  leads  to  the  fourth  thought  that  Satan  is  by  usurpa- 
tion the  de  facto  prince  and  ruler  of  this  world.  There  is  a 
guiding  intelligence,  the  directing  will  of  a  master.    So  our 


CHRIST  HEAD  OF  THE  CHURCH         109 

text  adds :  "According  to  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air, 
the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience." 
What  a  succession  of  thought,  and  what  a  cHmax!  Dead 
by  nature,  dead  by  practice,  swept  along  on  the  tide  of  the 
world-spirit,  under  the  domination  of  Satan !  What  a  hope- 
less outlook  for  salvation  by  human  merit!  What  a  predi- 
cate for  salvation  by  grace !  What  a  reinforcement  of  the 
thought  in  Paul's  commission,  Acts  26:  17,  18:  "Delivering 
thee  from  the  [Jewish]  people,  and  from  the  Gentiles,  unto 
whom  I  send  thee,  to  open  their  eyes,  that  they  may  turn 
from  darkness  to  light  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto 
God,  that  they  may  receive  remission  of  sins  and  an  inherit- 
ance among  them  that  are  sanctified  by  faith  in  me."  He 
is  to  "turn  them  from  darkness  to  light;"  so  they  are  in 
darkness.  He  is  to  "turn  them  from  the  power  of  Satan 
unto  God ;"  so  they  are  under  the  power  of  Satan.  "That 
they  may  receive  remission  of  sins;"  so  they  are  unpar- 
doned. "That  they  may  receive  an  inheritance;"  so  they 
are  bankrupt.  "An  inheritance  among  them  that  are  sanc- 
tified;" so  they  are  now  unholy.  "An  inheritance  among 
them  that  are  sanctified  through  faith  in  Christ;"  so  they 
are  without  faith.  Think  of  a  preacher  going  out  relying 
on  himself  to  undertake  a  job  like  that ! 

We  are  not  through  yet.  "Among  whom  we  also  once 
lived  in  the  lusts  of  our  flesh,  doing  the  desires  of  the  flesh 
and  of  the  mind."  Those  whom  we  found  dead  by  nature, 
dead  by  practice,  bound  up  in  the  chains  of  the  world,  under 
the  power  of  the  devil,  are  also  found  to  be  under  the 
dominion  of  the  desires  of  the  flesh.  As  John  puts  it: 
"Love  not  the  world,  neither  the  things  that  are  in  the  world. 
If  any  man  love  the  world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not 
in  him.  For  all  that  is  in  the  world — the  lust  of  the  flesh, 
and  the  lust  of  the  eyes,  and  the  vainglory  of  life,  is  not  of 
the  Father,  but  is  of  the  world.  And  the  world  passeth 
away  and  the  lust  thereof,"  I  John  2: 15-17.    Or,  as  James 


110     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

puts  it :  "Know  ye  not  that  the  friendship  of  the  world  is 
enmity  with  God  ?"   Jas.  4 : 4. 

The  reader  will  note  particularly  the  relation  of  good 
works  to  salvation,  expressed  both  negatively  and  positively : 
"Not  of  works"  but  created  and  saved  "unto  good  works." 
They  do  not  cause  or  even  contribute  to  salvation,  but  flow 
from  it  as  a  result.  As  our  Lord  puts  it:  "First  make  a 
tree  good  and  then  the  fruit  will  be  good."  Or,  as  Paul 
later  expresses  it:  "For  we  also  once  were  foolish,  dis- 
obedient, deceived,  serving  divers  lusts  and  pleasures,  living 
in  malice  and  envy,  hateful,  hating  one  another.  But  when 
the  kindness  of  God,  our  Savior,  and  His  love  toward  man 
appeared,  not  by  the  works  done  in  righteousness,  which  we 
did  ourselves,  but  according  to  His  mercy  He  saved  us, 
through  the  washing  of  regeneration  and  the  renewing  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  which  He  poured  upon  us  richly,  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Savior;  that  being  justified  by  His  grace, 
we  might  be  made  heirs  according  to  the  hope  of  eternal  life. 
Faithful  is  the  saying  and  concerning  these  things  I  desire 
that  thou  affirm  confidently,  to  the  end  that  they  who  have 
believed  God  may  be  careful  to  maintain  good  works,"  Titus 
3 : 3-8.  The  relation  of  good  works  to  salvation  is  here 
expressed  very  clearly. 

While  good  works  before  salvation  are  impossible,  yet  it 
is  the  instruction  of  saving  grace  that  they  follow  salvation. 
So  Paul  again  says :  "For  the  grace  of  God  hath  appeared, 
bringing  salvation  to  all  men,  instructing  us  to  the  intent 
that  denying  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  we  should  live 
soberly  and  righteously  and  Godly  in  this  present  world, 
looking  for  the  blessed  hope  and  appearing  of  the  glory  of 
the  great  God  and  our  Savior  Jesus  Christ,  who  gave  him- 
self for  us,  that  He  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and 
purify  unto  himself  a  people  for  His  own  possession,  zealous 
of  good  works,"  Titus  2 :  1 1-14. 

Lest  we  might,  by  attributing  some  merit  to  faith,  place 


CHRIST  HEAD  OF  THE  CHURCH         111 

it  among  good  works  antecedent  to  salvation,  our  text  is 
careful  to  say,  "and  not  of  yourselves,  it  is  the  gift  of  God.'* 
True,  it  is  fairly  questioned  that  the  "gift"  here  is  gram- 
matically limited  to  faith.  This  matters  nothing,  since  it 
includes  faith;  elsewhere  most  unequivocally  faith  itself  is 
reckoned  as  a  grace,  a  gift.  Like  repentance  (Acts  ii :  i8) 
faith  is  a  gift  of  grace  before  it  is  a  human  exercise,  being  a 
fruit  of  the  regenerating  Spirit,  Phil,  i :  29 ;  II  Pet.  2:1; 
Acts  13:48. 

Moreover,  as  the  essence  of  faith  is  merely  to  receive  an 
offered  gift,  its  exercise  cannot  be  classed  as  a  work.  The 
old  hymn  holds  good : 

"Grace  first  contrived  the  way 

To  save  rebellious  man ; 
And  all  the  steps  that  grace  display 
Which  drew  the  wondrous  plan. 

Grace  led  my  roving  feet 

To  tread  the  heavenly  road ; 
And  new  supplies  each  hour  I  meet 

While  pressing  on  to  God. 

Grace  all  the  work  shall  crown. 

Through  everlasting  days ; 
It  lays  in  heaven  the  topmost  stone. 

And  well  deserves  the  praise." 

Let  us  note  particularly  that  the  whole  paragraph  on 
salvation  by  grace  is  clothed  with  the  imagery  of  creation, 
with  an  evident  comparative  reference  to  the  Genesis- 
creation.  Creation  is  the  bringing  into  being  without  the 
use  of  pre-existing  material,  so  that  "what  is  seen  hath  not 
been  made  out  of  the  things  which  appear,"  and  so  "if  any 
man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creation."  This  imagery 
absolutely  excludes  and  forbids  the  idea  of  any  antecedent 
good  or  merit  in  the  subjects  of  grace.  Indeed,  redemption 
is  a  much  higher  order  of  creation  than  the  Genesis-creation 
and  deserves  and  obtains  another  memorial,  as  we  will  later 
learn  from  the  Letter  to  the  Hebrews,  which  shows  that 
when  God  had  finished  the  original  creation  He  sanctified  the 


lis     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

seventh  day  to  commemorate  it;  but  when  Jesus  finished 
the  creation  of  redemption,  He  also  rested  from  His  work, 
as  God  had  done  from  His,  and  so  "there  remaineth  a 
Sabbath-keeping  for  the  children  of  God" — a  first  day  of 
the  week  to  commemorate  the  new  creation,  after  Christ  had 
nailed  to  His  cross  and  blotted  out  the  whole  cycle  of  Jewish 
Sabbaths.    (Heb.  4:9,  10;  Col.  2:  14-17.) 

The  creative  idea  in  salvation  is  according  to  the  power 
put  forth  when  Jesus  was  raised  from  the  dead  and  exalted 
to  the  throne  of  the  universe.  This  power  is  infinitely  super- 
human. Regeneration  is  a  spiritual  resurrection  from  the 
dead  (Ezek.  2)7'-  1-14;  John  5:25,  26).  The  bones  in  the 
valley  were  very  dry.  There  was  no  life-power  in  them. 
Only  after  the  Divine  breath  was  breathed  on  these  bones 
did  they  live. 

Pointing  to  the  sinners  dead  by  nature,  dead  by  practice, 
borne  as  dead,  non-resisting  leaves  on  the  tidal  course  of  this 
world,  a  course  impelled  by  Satan,  until  like  a  frail  boat  in 
the  suction  of  Niagara  whose  fall  just  ahead  is  like  the 
doom  of  eternity — ^pointing,  I  say,  to  such  sinners,  we  may 
re-echo  the  words  of  Jehovah  to  Ezekiel,  "Son  of  man,  can 
these  dry  bones  live?"  The  only  possible  answer  is,  "Not 
of  themselves — only  by  God's  creative  power  of  grace." 

The  reader  will  notice  the  distinction  in  idea  between  the 
salvation  in  Eph.  2:1-10,  and  the  salvation  arising  from 
redemption,  justification  and  adoption  in  Galatians  and 
Romans.  Here  the  salvation  is  in  us;  there  it  is  for  us. 
There  the  salvation  is  in  relation  to  its  legal  aspects ;  here, 
to  its  spiritual  effects.  Redemption  is  Christ's  work — justi- 
fication and  adoption,  the  Father's  work  on  account  of 
Christ's  work.  Regeneration,  sanctification  and  glorifica- 
tion are  the  Spirit's  work  applying  the  benefits  of  Christ's 
work.  It  is  not  meant  that  Romans  and  Galatians  leave  out 
the  Spirit's  work,  but  that  the  prison  letters  change  the 
emphasis  and  stress  the  internal  salvation. 


CHRIST  HEAD  OF  THE  CHURCH         US 


QUESTIONS 

1.  What  the  four  thoughts  in  Ephesians  i :  2.2,  23? 

2.  What  two  ideas  involved  in  "The  head  of  the  church?" 

3.  Where  now  is  "the  Head  of  the  church?" 

4.  How,  then,  does  "the  head"  in  heaven  rule  the  church  on  earth? 

5.  What  impious  claims  have  been  made  as  to  a  human  vicar,  or 
vice-regent  ? 

6.  When  and  by  what  act  was  the  capstone  put  on  the  Roman 
Papacy  ? 

7.  What  is  meant  by  "Christ  head  over  all  things  to  the  church  ?" 
Illustrate  by  the  great  commission. 

8.  Comparing  the  great  commission  to  a  suspension  bridge,  what 
the  anchorage  on  either  shore  ? 

9.  What  idea  is  involved  when  the  church  is  called  the  body  of 
Christ,  the  head,  and  what  the  distinction  between  this  idea  and  the 
idea  of  headship  in  regard  to  the  execution  of  the  great  commission 
just  considered. 

10.  In  what  three  senses  does  the  New  Testament  use  the  word, 
"church,"  and  how  do  you  apply  the  double  idea  of  headship  to  the 
triple  idea  of  the  church? 

11.  On  whom  must  I  look  to  find  the  fulness  of  God,  the  Father? 

12.  Where  must  I  look  to  find  the  fulness  of  Christ?    Illustrate. 

13.  In  the  paragraph  2 :  i-io,  what  the  first  thought?  ^ 

14.  What  the  first  way  in  which  the  sinner's  deadness  is  expressed  ? 
Illustrate  by  the  snake  and  ink-bottle.  What  the  bearing  of  this  dead- 
ness on  the  dogmas  of  salvation  by  external  ordinances  ? 

15.  What  the  second  thought  of  the  deadness  and  its  relations  to 
the  first?    Illustrate. 

16.  What  the  third  thought  of  the  deadness,  and  what  the  appro- 
priate scriptures  ? 

17.  What  the  fourth  thought,  and  what  the  appropriate  scriptures 
from  other  books  of  the  New  Testament?  Illustrate  by  Paul's 
commission. 

18.  What  the  relation  of  "good  works"  to  this  salvation,  and  what 
the  proof-texts  ? 

19.  What  the  imagery  of  this  whole  passage,  and  how  does  this 
support  the  teaching  so  far  ? 

20.  What  Sabbath  commemorated  the  material  creation  ? 

21.  What  additional  idea  underlies  the  Jewish  Sabbath  ? 

22.  What  scriptures  prove  the  abrogation  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath? 
2^.    What   Sabbath  supersedes   and   commemorates   the  greater 

work  of  redemption  ? 

24.  Cite  passages  to  prove  the  creative  idea  in  the  Spirit's  appli- 
cation of  our  Lord's  redemption. 

25.  What  distinction  in  the  idea  of  salvation  in  Eph.  2:  i-io  from 
the  idea  in  Galatians  and  Romans  arising  from  redemption,  justifica- 
tion and  adoption  ? 


XI 

THE  WALL  OF  PARTITION 
Scripture:  Eph.  2: 11-22 

THIS  chapter  commences  with  the  seventh  item  of  the 
analysis — the  breaking  down  of  the  wall  of  partition 
between  Jew  and  Gentile,  and  the  uniting  of  the  two 
into  one  church,  as  an  institution,  which  finds  expression  in 
every  particular  church.  The  particulars  of  the  statement 
of  the  condition  of  the  Gentiles  prior  to  the  proclamation  of 
the  gospel  after  Christ's  ascension  are  thus  given  in  our  text : 

1.  Separate  from  Christ — ^having  no  knowledge  of  Him, 
or  any  interest  in  Him — "salvation  is  of  the  Jews." 

2.  "Having  been  alienated  from  the  commonwealth  of 
Israel" — i.e.,  as  uncircumcised,  not  entitled  to  citizenship 
in  it.  The  force  of  "alienated"  here  is  about  this :  The  orig- 
inal promise  of  the  gospel  was  to  the  race.  Through  both 
the  antediluvian  and  Noachic  periods  the  promise  was  uni- 
versal in  its  application.  But  after  these  two  race-falls, 
particularism  in  a  single  nation  succeeded.  The  race  proba- 
tions culminated  at  the  Tower  of  Babel  in  the  dispersion 
of  the  nations,  followed  by  the  call  of  a  particular  nation. 
This  was  the  time  of  their  alienation.  In  the  Hebrew 
"politeia"  or  citizenship-condition,  including  country,  con- 
stitution, economy,  they  had  no  part.  The  call  of  one  nation 
made  the  others  aliens. 

3.  "Strangers  from  the  covenants  of  the  promise."  Mark 
the  plural,  including  all  covenants  made  with  Abraham  or 
any  of  his  descendants.  Mark  the  word,  "promise,"  not 
promises  in  general,  but  the  promise,  that  is,  of  the  Messiah. 

114. 


THE  WALL  OF  PARTITION  115 

4.  "Having  no  hope."  This  does  not  deny  desire  or 
aspiration,  but  expectation  based  on  definite  and  reliable 
grounds  Hope  is  composite — a  blending  of  two  elements, 
desire  and  expectation.  We  may  desire  what  we  may  not 
expect  and  expect  what  we  do  not  desire.  Many  heathen 
desired  better  things,  but  had  no  assured  ground  of  hope. 
They  had  no  accredited  revelation.  Mommsen  in  his  "His- 
tory of  Rome"  says,  "In  Hellas  [Greece],  at  the  epoch  of 
Alexander  the  Great,  it  was  a  current  saying,  and  one  pro- 
foundly felt  by  all  the  best  men,  that  the  best  thing  of  all 
was  not  to  be  born,  and  the  next  best  to  die."  Testimonies 
from  the  classics  might  be  multiplied  on  this  point. 

5.  "Without  God  in  the  world."  Mark  the  Greek, 
"Atheoi"  i.e.,  atheists,  not  in  the  active  but  passive  sense. 
They  had  indeed  gods  many — their  own  creation.  The  one 
true  God  was  unknown  to  them.  See  Paul's  speech  at 
Athens  referring  to  the  altar  inscribed  to  the  "unknown 
God." 

6.  "Far  off."  Compare  Rom.  i :  18-32,  to  see  not  only 
how  far  off,  but  just  how  they  sinfully  arrive  at  that  dark 
and  guilty  distance. 

7.  "A  wall  of  partition"  rigidly  separated  them  from  the 
people  who  were  custodians  of  the  Oracles  of  God,  and  the 
heirs  of  all  the  covenants  from  Abraham  to  David. 

The  reader  will  miss  the  mark  at  this  point  if  he  does  not 
look  back  carefully  to  the  first  eleven  chapters  of  Genesis. 
There  are  in  these  chapters  three  distinct  race-probations. 
First,  in  Adam,  as  head  of  all  human  beings.  Adam  fell, 
and  all  his  posterity,  without  distinction,  fell  with  him  and 
in  him.  Second,  after  his  fall  and  expulsion  from  the 
Garden,  the  throne  of  grace  was  set  up  at  the  East  of 
the  Garden,  and  all  his  descendants,  without  distinction, 
were  privileged  to  approach  the  God  of  grace  and  mercy 
through  typical  sacrifices  based  on  the  promise  to  the  race, 
"The  seed  of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head." 


116     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

This  race  probation  culminated  in  the  flood,  and  a  third 
race  probation  commenced  with  Noah,  as  the  new  head  of 
the  race  and  under  a  special  covenant. 

When  this  third  race  probation  failed  at  the  Tower  of 
Babel,  and  the  dispersion  of  the  nations  then  followed 
(Genesis  12),  the  call  of  Abraham,  and  the  fourth  race- 
probation,  commenced  through  one  family  to  become  a 
chosen  nation  under  national  covenants.  The  very  consti- 
tution of  one  nation  to  become  God's  organized  people,  by 
isolating  laws  and  ordinances,  left  out  all  other  nations  as 
aliens  and  strangers.  These  segregating  laws  and  ordinances 
constituted  the  wall  of  partition  between  the  Hebrews  and 
other  nations. 

Circumcision,  the  entire  Sabbatic  cycle,  priesthood  and 
sacrifices,  with  their  ritual,  all  social  and  political  ordinances 
of  separation,  prescribed  limitations  of  citizenship,  a  spe- 
cial home-land,  indeed  the  entire  Sinaitic  legislation  with 
its  later  developments  in  Numbers  and  Deuteronomy,  en- 
tered into  the  wall  of  separation.  There  is  no  parallel  in 
history  to  the  isolating,  exclusive  legislation  of  Moses. 

We  find  in  the  New  Testament  that  Christian  Jews  wanted 
to  keep  up  that  wall  of  partition — to  deny  that  Christ  had 
broken  it  down.  They  said  in  order  to  be  saved  one  had 
to  become  a  Jew — had  to  be  circumcised.  All  of  these  laws 
with  reference  to  their  altar,  the  way  of  approach  to  God, 
etc.,  as  embodied  in  the  tabernacle,  or  its  successor,  the 
temple,  and  its  offerings  setting  forth  ways  and  means  by 
which  one  could  come  to  God,  were  in  the  partition  wall. 
In  Galatians  Paul  says  that  even  believers  in  Christ,  up  to 
the  time  the  object  of  faith  came — that  is,  until  Christ  came — 
were  under  these  laws  and  had  to  observe  these  old  cere- 
monial laws.  The  heirs  by  faith  were  under  tutors  until 
Christ  died. 

So  we  see  Christian  Jews  in  New  Testament  times  still 
wishing  to  keep  up  this  wall  of  partition.    When  Peter  went 


THE  WALL  OF  PARTITION  117 

into  the  house  of  Cornelius  and  ate  with  the  Gentiles  he  was 
sharply  rebuked  by  some  of  the  church  at  Jerusalem,  but  by 
patient  explanation  of  all  the  circumstances  he  quieted  the 
opposition,  but  did  not  conquer  it. 

It  reappeared  at  Antioch  in  the  demand  that  the  Gentiles 
must  be  circumcised  in  order  to  be  saved.  This  was  a  vital 
and  fundamental  matter.  So  Paul  and  Barnabas  sternly 
resisted  it,  and  as  these  Judaizing  teachers  came  from  Jeru- 
salem and  claimed  authority  from  the  apostles  and  the  mother 
church,  the  whole  case  was  referred  to  them  and  resulted 
in  the  council  described  in  Acts  15.  Paul's  contention  was 
fully  sustained.    Peter,  and  even  James,  sided  with  him. 

But  even  this  solemn  decision  did  not  end  the  matter,  so 
far  as  the  Jews  were  concerned.  The  question  of  eating 
with  the  Gentiles  was  reopened  at  Antioch.  While  a  Gen- 
tile might  be  saved  without  becoming  a  Jew,  a  Jewish  Chris- 
tian must  remain  a  Jew.  In  this  form  of  the  question  Peter 
and  Barnabas  were  led  to  dissimulation,  the  more  reprehen- 
sible on  Peter's  part,  since  this  was  the  very  form  of  the 
question  on  which  he  had  stood  so  nobly  in  the  case  of 
Cornelius.    Paul  won  again,  but  the  war  went  on. 

How  did  Christ  break  down  the  wall?  In  the  Letter  to 
the  Colossians  is  the  clearest  passage  in  the  whole  Bible  on 
how  the  whole  Jewish  law  was  abrogated,  2:14:  "Having 
blotted  out  the  bond  written  in  ordinances  that  was  against 
us,  which  was  contrary  to  us ;  and  He  hath  taken  it  out  of 
the  way,  nailing  it  to  the  cross,  having  despoiled  the  prin- 
cipalities and  powers.  He  made  a  show  of  them  openly, 
triumphing  over  them  in  it.  Let  no  man  therefore  judge 
you  in  meat  or  in  drink,  or  in  respect  of  a  feast  day,  or  a 
new  moon,  or  a  Sabbath  day." 

Christ  nailed  the  whole  thing  to  the  Cross — ^blotted  it  out. 
These  things  were  typical.  When  Christ,  the  Antitype,  came 
they  were  done  away  forever.  The  whole  Sabbatic  cycle 
is  set  forth  in  this  passage ;  feast  days,  or  annual  Sabbaths ; 


lis     COLOSSIANS,  EPHIiSIANS,  HEBHEWS 

new  moons,  or  monthly  Sabbaths ;  a  Sabbath  day,  or  weekly 
Sabbath,  are  all  blotted  out,  just  as  Hosea  predicted:  "I 
will  also  cause  all  her  mirth  to  cease,  her  feasts,  her  new 
moons,  and  her  Sabbaths  and  all  her  solemn  assemblies." 
Seventh  Day  Adventists  try  to  get  people  to  go  back  to 
keeping  the  Seventh  Day  instead  of  the  first  day  of  the 
week. 

That  means  Christ  has  not  come — that  we  are  still  under 
the  bondage  of  types  and  ceremonies.  Whoever  believes  that, 
announces  himself  as  a  Jew  of  the  old  kind. 

It  took  a  Paul  to  make  people  see  that  the  wall  was  broken 
down,  ground  to  powder,  and  swept  out  of  the  realm  of 
obligation  by  the  breath  of  God's  abrogation.  It  is  utterly 
gone.  Paul  would  sometimes  as  a  matter  of  expediency, 
out  of  consideration  for  weak  brethren  who  believed  it  was 
something  awful  to  eat  meat  offered  to  idols,  refrain  from 
eating  meat.  He  said,  "The  idol  is  nothing.  That  is  all 
done  away  with  in  Christ.  And  all  of  these  laws  about 
clean  and  unclean  animals  have  no  force  now,  but  so  far 
as  I  am  concerned,  if  my  eating  meat  will  cause  some  weak 
brother  to  stumble  and  fall  down  and  keep  on  falling,  I  will 
let  it  alone.  I  do  not  let  it  alone  because  there  is  any  harm 
in  it  to  me,  but  because  of  these  weak  brethren  for  whom 
Christ  died." 

While  that  wall  of  partition  stood,  on  one  side  were  men 
without  God,  aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel, 
strangers  to  the  covenant,  who  had  no  hope  in  the  Messiah, 
therefore  without  God.  It  said  to  the  Gentile,  "You  stand 
off  yonder."  In  Mark  7,  to  show  how  extreme  their  position 
became,  in  addition  to  the  law,  they  observed  their  added 
traditions;  if  a  Jew  went  to  market,  when  he  came  back 
he  must  immerse  himself  to  be  free  from  possible  defilement 
by  contact ;  he  must  immerse  the  table  on  which  he  ate,  the 
couch  on  which  he  slept,  the  pots  and  vessels  which  he  used. 
That  entire  typical  ceremonial  legislation  which  shut  out  the 


THE  WALL  OF  PARTITION  119 

Gentile  was  abrogated.  It  was  blotted  out,  abolished,  and 
nailed  to  the  cross  of  Christ. 

We  will  now  see  how  the  thought  develops.  The  old  dis- 
tinction between  Jew  and  Gentile  being  blotted  out,  he  now 
uses  a  series  of  figures.  The  first  figure  is  marriage,  by 
which  two  entirely  different  individuals  become  one :  "They 
twain  shall  be  one  flesh."  The  scripture  on  that  is  verse  14 : 
"He  hath  made  both  one."  And  in  verse  15:  "That  He 
might  create  in  himself  of  the  two,  one  new  man."  The 
wall  being  broken  down,  it  is  the  purpose  of  Christ  to  take 
the  Jew  and  Gentile  and  make  one  new  man,  so  that  in 
Christ  there  will  be  neither  Jew  nor  Greek.  That  is  the 
first  figure. 

The  next  figure  is  the  new  commonwealth.  He  says,  "Ye 
are  no  more  strangers  and  sojourners,  but  ye  are  fellow 
citizens  with  the  saints."  Here  is  a  citizenship,  and  it  is 
just  as  good  and  proper  for  the  Gentiles  to  be  citzens  in 
Christ  Jesus  as  for  the  Jews.  The  next  figure  is  the  house- 
hold, or  family.  This  is  the  language :  "And  of  the  house- 
hold of  God."  So  we  have  a  new  man,  a  new  commonwealth, 
a  new  family. 

He  changes  the  figure  again  to  the  temple,  or  house  of 
God.  Here  is  the  language :  "Being  built  upon  the  founda- 
tion of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  Christ  Jesus  himself  being 
the  chief  corner  stone."  That  temple  at  Jerusalem  was  one 
of  the  strongest  factors  in  the  wall  of  partition.  Why? 
There  was  a  certain  place  that  the  Gentiles  were  permitted 
to  go — the  court  of  the  Gentiles — but  they  could  not  go 
any  further.    No  Gentile  could  go  up  into  the  Jewish  court. 

Now  Paul  says,  "That  old  temple  is  out  of  the  way;  he 
builds  a  new  Temple  that  the  old  one  foreshadowed,"  and 
in  this  new  Temple  Gentile  material  will  be  used  as  well  as 
Jewish  material.  The  chief  corner-stone  in  the  foundation 
of  this  new  Temple  is  the  rock,  Christ  Jesus.  A  corner- 
stone is  one  that  holds  two  walls  together.    We  notice  in  a 


120     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

building  where  two  walls  come  together  a  large  stone  that 
goes  into  each  wall  and  holds  them  together.  Of  course 
there  are  corner-stones  all  the  way  up,  but  the  chief  corner- 
stone is  down  next  to  the  foundation.  Every  Christian 
who  exercises  the  holding-together  power  is  a  corner-stone. 
Some  just  stick  in  the  wall.  Others  we  may  call  inter- 
mediate corner-stones.    That  is  the  imagery  of  the  Temple. 

In  verse  i8  he  shows  a  much  more  precious  thought: 
"Through  Him  we  both  [Jew  and  Gentile]  have  access  to 
the  Father."  Before,  it  was  only  the  Jews  who  had  access, 
but  under  this  new  economy,  the  Gentiles  as  well  as  the 
Jews  have  access  in  Christ  to  the  Father.  I  stated  that  when 
Christ  died  He  nailed  to  His  cross  all  discriminating  legis- 
lation. There  was  a  signal  token.  Just  at  the  time  Christ 
died  the  veil  in  the  Temple  was  rent  in  twain  from  top  to 
bottom.  That  veil  was  said  to  be  70  feet  long,  30  feet  wide, 
and  4  inches  thick.  Ten  yoke  of  oxen  could  not  have  torn  it. 
It  was  closely  woven  and  beautifully  colored.  At  the  mo- 
ment Christ  said,  "It  is  finished,"  it  was  rent  in  twain,  com- 
mencing at  the  top  and  going  all  the  way  down.  This  signi- 
fied that  the  way  to  the  Holy  of  Holies  was  then  made 
open  to  all. 

Paul  refers  to  that  in  the  Letter  to  the  Hebrews  when  he 
says,  "Wherein  God,  being  minded  to  show  more  abun- 
dantly unto  the  heirs  of  the  promise  the  immutability  of 
His  counsel,  interposed  with  an  oath ;  that  by  two  immutable 
things,  in  which  it  is  impossible  for  God  to  lie,  we  may  have 
a  strong  encouragement,  who  have  fled  for  refuge  to  lay 
hold  of  the  hope  set  before  us :  which  we  have  as  an  anchor 
of  the  soul,  a  hope  both  sure  and  steadfast  and  entering  into 
that  which  is  within  the  veil ;  whither  as  a  forerunner  Jesus 
entered  for  us,  having  become  a  high  priest  forever  after 
the  order  of  Melchizedek."  Christ  destroyed  two  enmities ; 
first  the  enmity  between  Jew  and  Gentile,  and  made  peace 
between  these  two  and  converted  them  into  one;  then  He 


THE  WALL  OF  PARTITION  121 

made  peace  between  each  one  of  them  and  the  Father.  Being 
reconciled  to  the  Father  through  Christ  we  are  reconciled 
to  our  fellow-men. 

We  now  come  to  a  very  important  thought.  When  Paul 
talks  about  the  new  man,  and  the  church  is  said  to  be  the 
bride  made  one  with  Christ,  as  Adam  and  Eve  were  made 
one,  and  when  he  talks  about  one  commonwealth  and  one 
citizenship,  and  when  he  talks  about  them  being  one  house- 
hold, and  being  made  into  one  temple,  he  is  speaking  of  the 
church  as  an  institution.  God  established  a  time  institution. 
That  institution  is  exemplified,  becomes  operative,  in  par- 
ticular churches. 

This  thought  is  expressed  in  verse  21 :  "In  whom  each 
several  building,  fitly  framed  together,  groweth  into  a  holy 
temple  in  the  Lord."  That  is  to  say,  each  particular  congre- 
gation, particular  church,  is  an  expression  of  the  church  as 
an  institution,  and  its  only  expression.  For  instance,  a  new 
state  may  provide  for  "trial  by  jury."  There,  "jury"  is  an 
institution,  of  which  each  particular  jury  is  an  expression. 
So  the  expression,  "I  will  build  my  church,"  when  that  insti- 
tution becomes  operative,  it  is  exemplified  in  a  particular 
church.  We  must  make  the  distinction  in  usage  according 
to  the  laws  of  language  between  an  institution  in  the  abstract 
sense  and  its  expression  in  every  particular,  concrete  case. 
Speaking  abstractly,  we  may  say  that  the  church  is  a  temple. 
Speaking  concretely,  each  particular  church  is  a  temple. 
Such  usage  of  language  is  common.  We  never  misunder- 
stand its  import  in  other  matters.  We  never  make  the  ab- 
stract sense  a  conglomeration.  If  we  say  abstractly  "the 
husband  is  the  head  of  the  wife"  we  do  not  mean  all  hus- 
bands are  blended  into  one  big  universal  husband.  But  we 
mean  that  in  every  particular  case  the  husband  is  the  head 
of  the  wife.  Just  so  in  Eph.  i :  22 ;  2 :  12-20 ;  3 :  10,  21  the 
church  as  an  institution  is  discussed  under  several  figures. 
But  always  Eph.  2:21,  22  (revised  text)  shows  what  the 


122     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

institution  is  in  its  expression.  It  becomes  operative  in 
particular  churches  only.  Later  Eph.  5 :  23-33  will  discuss 
the  glory  church. 

The  Judaizing  Christians  fought  PauFs  gospel  on  every 
field  of  evangelism,  and  notwithstanding  his  letters  to  the 
Corinthians,  Galatians,  Romans,  Philippians,  Colossians, 
Ephesians,  and  Hebrews,  he  foresaw  the  coming  of  a  great 
apostasy  that  after  his  day  would  revert  to  a  national 
church  with  an  earthly  head  and  re-incorporate  into  the 
Christian  system  the  ideas,  priesthood  and  ritual  of  an  abro- 
gated economy.  He  foresaw  the  coming  of  Christian  inter- 
preters who  would  revert  to  the  Jewish  Sabbath  and  insist 
on  the  restoration  of  a  Jewish  kingdom  with  a  returned 
Christ  as  King  at  Jerusalem  and  with  the  Gentile  world  in 
subjugation. 

Tens  of  thousands  of  pulpits  in  Christendom  today  are 
seeking  in  some  fashion  to  rebuild  that  wall  which  Christ 
demolished  on  the  cross,  and  whose  crumbling  stone  and 
wasting  wood  were  pulverized  and  scattered  as  fine  dust. 

From  the  old  covenant,  and  from  effete  heathen  religions 
and  customs,  they  gathered  fragments  and  blended  them 
into  a  new  yoke  of  bondage,  setting  aside  the  liberty  and 
simplicity  of  the  gospel.  And  particularly  on  the  ideas  of 
the  church  there  is  yet  before  Baptists  a  hard  battle,  whose 
preliminary  skirmishes  have  already  commenced. 

So  far  only  the  general  line  of  thought  has  been  followed. 
But  we  need  to  look  more  critically  at  some  particular  expres- 
sions, even  though  there  be  repetition. 

Verse  14,  "For  He  is  our  peace."  What  the  strict  mean- 
ing? Is  it  limited  to  peace  between  Jew  and  Gentile,  or  is 
it  the  peace  of  both  Jew  and  Gentile  with  God,  or  both? 
The  peace  under  discussion  is  a  reconcilation  by  the  cross. 
The  cross  must  have  here  an  expiatory  sense ;  it  must  pro- 
pitiate toward  God,  making  peace  between  Him  and  the 
sinner,  and  as  both  Jew  and  Gentile  draw  near  to  God  they 


THE  WALL  OF  PARTITION  133 

draw  near  to  each  other.  As  all  the  diverging  spokes  of  a 
wheel  come  together  and  unite  in  the  hub,  so  Jew  and  Gen- 
tile find  in  Christ,  the  center,  primarily,  peace  with  God,  and, 
secondarily,  peace  with  each  other.  Isaiah  (9:  5,  6),  Micah 
(5:6),  and  Zechariah  (10:10)  predict  peace  through  the 
coming  Messiah. 

Verse  15,  "The  enmity."  Here  again  the  enmity  is  not 
merely  or  primarily  the  hatred  between  Jew  and  Gentile, 
but  the  enmity  of  both  toward  God.  This  is  what  stood  in 
the  way  of  peace.  Enmity  which  antagonizes  and  holds 
nations  apart  can  never  be  converted  to  peace  until  first  the 
enmity  toward  God  on  the  part  of  opposing  nations  is  gotten 
out  of  the  way.  In  the  death  of  enmity  toward  God  is  also 
the  death  of  enmity  toward  each  other.  The  thought  is 
beautifully  imaged  in  the  two  staves  of  the  prophet,  the 
staff,  "Beauty,"  and  the  staff,  "Bands,"  the  first  representing 
the  tie  uniting  Ephraim  and  Judah  to  God,  the  second 
binding  the  two  together.  "Bands"  cannot  be  broken  until 
"Beauty"  is  first  broken. 

"Create  in  himself  of  the  two  one  new  man."  This  is  not 
demanding  that  a  Gentile  shall  become  a  Jew,  nor  that  a 
Jew  shall  become  a  Gentile;  this  would  not  be  a  creation. 
But  he  creates  a  new  corporate  body,  i.e.,  the  church  as  an 
institution.  But  as  the  two  elements,  Jew  and  Gentile,  are 
blended  into  the  new  corporation,  this  would  not  be  a  crea- 
tion on  account  of  the  use  of  pre-existing  material.  A  mere 
blending,  therefore,  does  not  express  the  thought.  The 
blending  would-be  purely  artificial  if  unchanged,  incoherent 
elements  are  bound  together.  By  the  creating  power  of  re- 
generation the  Jew  is  made  a  Christian,  and  so  the  Gentile. 
This  Christian  material  of  the  new  corporation  did  not 
exist  before.  In  this  way  He  created  in  himself  of  the 
two  one  new  man,  i.e.,  a  new  church.  As  the  corporation 
was  new,  so  the  elements  which  composed  it  were  made  new. 

Verse  16.   "Reconcile  them  both  in  one  body,  unto  God, 


IM     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

through  the  cross."  Here  it  is  evident,  what  has  been  ex- 
pressed before,  that  the  reconcihation  of  peace  is  toward 
God,  and  sacrificially  through  the  cross,  and  hence  their 
peace  with  each  other  is  only  a  secondary  thought  resulting 
from  the  first. 

Verse  17.  "And  He  came  and  preached  peace  to  them 
that  were  far  off  and  peace  to  them  that  were  nigh."  "And 
He  came."  When  and  what  this  coming  ?  It  was  the  coming 
in  the  Holy  Spirit  on  Pentecost — the  beginning  of  the  exe- 
cution of  the  commission  given  before  His  ascension. 
Instrumentally  the  church,  endued  with  power  by  the  Spirit, 
did  the  preaching. 

Verse  18.  "For  through  Him  [Christ]  we  both  [Jew  and 
Gentile]  have  access,  in  one  Spirit,  unto  the  Father."  Here 
in  one  short  sentence  we  have  all  the  persons  of  the  Trinity 
in  their  distinguishing  office-work. 

Verse  20.  "Foundation — Corner-stone."  Christ  is  really 
the  foundation  and  the  corner-stone  (I  Cor.  3:  10-15  5  I  P^t. 
2:6,  7).  The  New  Testament  apostles  and  prophets  are 
the  foundation  only  in  the  sense  that  they  laid  it  in  their 
preaching,  and  in  that  way  their  vital  doctrines,  or  what  they 
preached,  is  called  the  foundation  (Heb.  6:1). 

Real  foundation  =  Christ. 

Teaching  foundation  =  the  apostles  and  prophets. 

Doctrinal  foundation  ==  what  they  preached. 

Verses  21,  22.  Let  the  reader  particularly  note  that  the 
church  as  an  institution,  whether  called  "one  new  man," 
"one  body,"  "one  commonwealth,"  "one  household,"  or  "one 
temple,"  finds  expression  in  "each  several  building"  or  par- 
ticular congregation,  and  that  the  leading  idea  of  its  mission 
is  to  become  an  habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit. 


THE  WALL  OF  PARTITION  125 


QUESTIONS 

1.  Cite  and  explain  each  particular  of  the  condition  of  the  Gen- 
tiles prior  to  the  gospel  proclamation. 

2.  What  race  probations  in  the  first  eleven  chapters  of  Genesis, 
and  what  change  commences  in  chapter  12? 

3.  What  the  wall  of  partition  ? 

4.  When  and  how  abrogated  ? 

5.  Prove  that  this  includes  abrogation  of  the  Jewish  Sabbaths  of 
all  kinds. 

6.  In  what  letters  of  Paul  is  all  this  made  plain  ? 

7.  Yet  what  did  he  foresee  ? 

8.  In  this  chapter  what  various  images  are  employed  to  express 
the  idea  of  the  church  as  an  institution? 

9.  Prove   that   this   institution   finds   expression   in   particular 
churches. 

ID.    What  the  meaning  of  "Christ  our  peace?" 

11.  What  the  meaning  of  unity? 

12.  What  the  meaning  of  "He  came  and  preached  peace,"  i.e., 
when  and  how  was  this  coming  ? 

13.  What  verse  of  this  chapter  presents  all  the  persons  of  the 
Trinity,  distinguishing  between  their  office  work? 


XII 

PAUL'S  SECOND  GREAT  PRAYER 

Scripture:  Eph.  3:1-21 

THIS  discussion  covers  chapter  3,  connecting  two  items 
of  the  analysis,  towit :  Paul's  relation  to  the  mystery 
of  the  gospel  to  the  Gentiles,  and  his  second  great 
prayer.  And  what  a  prayer  it  is !  Let  us  notice  that  in  the 
first  verse  he  starts  to  pray,  side-tracks  it  for  twelve  verses, 
and  then  resumes.  This  is  peculiar  to  Paul,  starting  on  a 
main  thought  and  then  leaving  it  to  branch  out  on  a  collat- 
eral thought.  But  he  always  comes  back,  as  we  see  here  in 
verse  14.  A  man  who  does  that  shows  an  earnest,  fruitful, 
tenacious  mind.  We  have  noticed  the  trait  in  lower  animals. 
A  dog  starts  out  and  follows  a  deer  until  he  crosses  a  fresher 
bear  track.  His  hunting  instinct  turns  him  immediately  into 
the  cross-trail,  but  he  returns  to  take  up  the  original  trail. 
Unlike  the  dog,  some  preachers  start  with  a  text  and  follow 
it  until  they  flush  a  new  thought,  then  take  after  that  and 
never  get  back  to  the  text,  leaving  their  sermon  as  Tacitus, 
the  historian,  leaves  that  great  German  hero,  Arminius, 
standing  on  a  bridge,  his  readers  not  knowing  whether  he 
ever  crossed  over,  went  back,  or  is  standing  there  yet. 
Other  preachers,  alas !  follow  this  order :  i .  They  take  a 
text.  2.  They  instantly  leave  it.  3.  They  never  get  back  to  it. 
Paul  starts  off:  "For  this  cause  I,  Paul,  the  prisoner  of 
Christ  Jesus  in  behalf  of  you  Gentiles."  This  introduces  his 
prayer,  but  a  parenthesis  follows  showing  why  he  prays. 
This  parenthesis  is  the  eighth  item  of  the  analysis.  It 
occurred  to  him  that  he  ought  to  explain  why  he  was  so 

1^6 


PAUL'S  SECOND  GREAT  PRAYER         12T 

earnest  in  praying  for  them.  His  interest  grew  out  of  a 
special  relation,  such  as  no  other  man  sustained,  expressed  in 
these  words :  "The  dispensation  of  that  grace  of  God  which 
was  given  me  to  you-ward."  There  was  a  special  dispen- 
sation of  the  grace  of  God  given  to  Paul.  In  the  Letter  to 
the  Galatians  he  uses  this  language  bearing  upon  the  thought : 
"When  they  saw  that  I  had  been  entrusted  with  the  gospel 
of  the  uncircumcision,  even  as  Peter  with  the  gospel  of  the 
circumcision  (for  he  that  wrought  for  Peter  unto  the 
apostleship  of  the  circumcision  wrought  for  me  also  unto 
the  Gentiles)  ;  and  when  they  perceived  the  grace  that  was 
given  unto  me,  James  and  Cephas  and  John,  they  who  were 
reputed  to  be  pillars,  gave  to  me  and  Barnabas  the  right 
hands  of  fellowship,  that  we  should  go  unto  the  Gentiles, 
and  they  unto  the  circumcision." 

To  explain  his  prayer  for  the  Gentiles,  he  says  that  the 
dispensation  of  the  gospel  for  the  Gentiles  was  specially 
committed  to  him.  God  himself  divided  the  work.  He 
created  a  foreign  mission- department  and  put  it  in  the  hands 
of  Paul.  The  home  mission  department  he  left  to  the  orig- 
inal twelve ;  they  were  to  go  to  the  Jews  and  Paul  was  to  go 
to  the  Gentiles.  There  is  the  scriptural  thought  and  justi- 
fication for  our  division  of  the  mission  work  into  home  and 
foreign  departments.  To  illustrate:  If  our  foreign  mis- 
sion secretary  starts  to  write  a  letter  touching  a  mission 
station  in  Mexico,  Brazil,  China  or  Africa,  he  pauses  to 
explain  his  interest — that  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention 
has  given  him  the  dispensation  of  the  foreign  mission  work, 
and  that  is  why  he  is  writing. 

The  next  point  is  that  this  dispensation  was  given  to  him 
by  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  did  not  get  it  second 
hand  from  Peter.  He  is  clear  to  say  that  this  gospel  did 
not  come  from  man.  It  was  a  direct  revelation  from  Jesus 
Christ  to  him.  That  is  demonstration  against  even  the  idea 
of  a  human  pope,  for  here  is  a  man  whose  gospel  is  entirely 


128     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

independent  of  the  gospel  committed  to  the  twelve.  And  he 
insists  that  he  is  not  a  whit  behind  any  of  them ;  he  is  not 
indebted  to  any  of  them  for  the  authority  with  which  he 
preaches,  and  they  were  forced  to  concede  that  the  same 
God  who  wrought  mightily  through  Peter  to  the  circum- 
cision, wrought  just  as  mightily  through  Paul  to  the  Gentiles. 
He  makes  these  points  clear. 

In  Acts  9  we  have  the  first  account  of  God's  designating 
Paul  to  this  work,  setting  him  apart  to  be  a  great  foreign 
missionary.  And  as  time  developed,  He  called  him  more 
specifically  to  that  work.  To  show  the  strenuousness  and 
insistence  of  this  separation  of  Paul  to  this  work,  note  that 
he  himself  had  an  intense  desire  to  be  a  home  missionary, 
and  on  one  occasion,  contrary  to  the  direct  teaching  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  he  went  to  Jerusalem,  and  when  he  got  there, 
God  met  him  in  the  temple  and  said,  "They  will  not  hear 
you.  Go  work  where  I  sent  you."  In  other  words,  it  is 
as  much  the  province  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  select  the 
field  of  labor  as  it  is  to  call  a  man  to  preach,  and  the  preacher 
who  disregards  the  divine  jurisdiction  over  the  place  where 
he  is  to  preach,  is  sure  to  get  into  trouble  and  bring  shame 
and  failure  to  himself.  After  God  had  purposed  that  this 
should  be  his  work,  and  after  God  had  called  him  to  that 
work,  he  still  kept  hanging  around  the  home  mission  depart- 
ment. So  the  Lord  came  to  the  church  at  Antioch  and  said, 
"Set  apart  Paul  and  Barnabas  for  the  work  to  which  I  have 
called  them."    Church  action  followed  the  divine  action. 

Just  here  we  come  to  an  expression  that  causes  some 
people  a  little  trouble.  Verse  3 :  "How  that  by  revelation 
was  made  known  unto  me  the  mystery,  as  I  wrote  before  in 
a  few  words/'  The  question  is,  if  this  letter  was  intended 
primarily  and  exclusively  to  be  for  the  Ephesians,  when  did 
Paul  ever  write  them  about  the  dispensation  having  been 
committed  to  him  ?  Some  commentaries  say  that  it  is  in  the 
first  part  of  this  letter,  but  there  is  not  a  syllable  about  it 


PAUL'S  SECOND  GREAT  PRAYER         129 

in  the  first  part  of  this  letter.  We  find  it  in  Col.  i :  25 : 
"Whereof  I  was  made  a  minister,  according  to  the  dispen- 
sation of  God  which  was  given  me  to  you-ward,  to  fulfill 
the  Word  of  God,  even  the  mystery  which  hath  been  hid  for 
ages  and  generations :  but  now  hath  it  been  manifested  to 
His  saints."  That  is  where  he  ''wrote  before  in  a  few 
words'*  That  shows  that  there  is  a  very  close  relation 
between  Colossians  and  Ephesians.  The  Letter  to  the 
Ephesians  elaborates  the  Letter  to  the  Colossians,  and  jus- 
tifies the  position  taken  in  the  introductory  chapter  about  the 
phrase,  "At  Ephesus." 

We  now  come  to  the  word,  "mystery."  The  word  is  fre- 
quently used  in  the  Bible,  but  not  always  with  reference  to 
the  same  thing.  John,  in  Revelation,  presents  a  picture  of 
a  woman  dressed  in  scarlet  sitting  on  a  wild  beast  with  seven 
heads  and  ten  horns,  and  on  her  forehead  is  written: 
"Mystery,  Babylon  the  great,  mother  of  the  harlots 

AND  OF  THE  ABOMINATIONS  OF  THE  EARTH.'*     In  that  figure, 

under  the  name,  Babylon,  he  represents  the  mystery  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  In  another  place  Paul  himself 
says  in  his  Letter  to  Timothy:  "Great  is  the  mystery  of 
godliness."  That  is  a  different  mystery,  towit:  (i)  That 
God  was  veiled  in  the  flesh.  (2)  That,  though  veiled,  the 
angels  recognized  Him.  (3)  That  thus  veiled  He  was 
preached  unto  the  Gentiles.  (4)  That  He  was  believed  on 
by  the  Gentiles.  (5)  He  was  received  up  in  glory.  "Con- 
fessedly, great  is  the  mystery  of  godliness." 

But  Paul  uses  the  word  "mystery"  in  this  passage  in  a  dif- 
ferent meaning.  It  is  not  a  mystery  to  him,  nor  will  it  be  a 
mystery  to  them  after  he  explains.  The  mystery  will  be  taken 
away.  Here  is  the  secret  of  the  mystery,  in  verse  6 :  "That 
the  Gentiles  are  fellow-heirs,  and  fellow-members  of  the 
body,  and  fellow-partakers  in  the  promise  of  Christ  Jesus 
through  the  gospel."  It  was  a  mystery  in  Old  Testament 
times ;  it  was  then  veiled.    The  Jews  seemed  to  be  everything 


ISO     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

there.  But  the  mystery  unveiled  shows  that  even  in  the 
beginning  God  looked  kindly  toward  all  nations  of  men. 
God  intended  that  all  nations  of  men  should  seek  Him  and 
find  Him,  that  when  the  typical  age  passed,  His  gospel 
through  His  Son  should  go  to  all  nations  that  inhabit  the 
face  of  the  earth.  That  was  all  hidden  in  Old  Testament 
times,  but  it  is  not  mysterious  now. 

In  that  remarkable  Letter  to  the  Romans,  chapter  ii, 
where  the  same  matters  are  under  discussion,  he  points  out 
that  Israel,  the  chosen  nation,  loses  the  kingdom  of  God; 
that  through  their  fall  the  Gentiles  receive  the  kingdom  of 
God ;  that  through  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  the  Jews  come 
back  to  the  kingdom  of  God;  that  the  failure  of  the  Jews 
helps  the  Gentiles ;  that  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  helps  the 
Jews.  He  says  that  the  whole  thing  was  according  to  divine 
purpose,  and  then  ends  with  this  exclamation :  "O  the  depth 
of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  the  knowledge  of  God ! 
how  unsearchable  are  His  judgments,  and  His  ways  past 
tracing  out!  For  who  hath  known  the  mind  of  the  Lord? 
or  who  hath  been  His  counsellor?  or  who  hath  first  given  to 
Him,  and  it  shall  be  recompensed  unto  him  again?  For  of 
Him,  and  through  Him,  and  unto  Him,  are  all  things.  To 
Him  be  the  glory  forever.    Amen." 

Our  thoughts  so  far  are :  ( i )  That  the  dispensation  of  the 
gospel  to  the  Gentiles  was  given  to  Paul.  (2)  That  this  dis- 
pensation was  given  to  him  by  special  revelation ;  it  did  not 
come  secondhand  ;  he  was  to  be  the  great  foreign  missionary- 
man.  (3)  That  this  was  formerly  a  mystery,  but  is  now  ex- 
plained. (4)  The  purpose  of  God  is  that  the  Gentiles  shall 
be  fellow-heirs,  fellow-members  of  the  body  and  fellow- 
partakers  of  the  promise  of  Christ  Jesus  through  the  gospel. 

He  adds  a  thought  showing  a  more  distant  and  extensive 
end  of  his  ministry :  "Unto  me,  who  am  less  than  the  least 
of  all  saints,  was  this  grace  given,  to  preach  unto  the  Gen- 
tiles the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ ;  and  to  make  all  men 


PAUL'S  SECOND  GREAT  PRAYER        131 

see  what  is  the  dispensation  of  the  mystery  which  for  ages 
hath  been  hid  in  God  who  created  all  things ;  to  the  intent 
that  now  unto  the  principalities  and  the  powers  in  the  heav- 
enly places  might  be  made  known  through  the  church  the 
manifold  wisdom  of  God."  This  is  my  great — my  favorite — 
text.  It  sets  me  on  fire.  I  could  wake  suddenly  in  the  night 
and  preach  from  it  offhand.  Through  Paul,  by  special  divine 
appointment,  all  men  are  to  be  made  to  see  this  mystery 
unveiled.  Not  only  so,  but  unto  angels  by  the  church  must 
this  manifold  wisdom  of  God  be  made  known.  The  church 
is  a  pedagogue  to  angels.    By  the  church  they  are  instructed. 

The  first  time  I  ever  met  my  cousin,  J.  L.  Carroll,  he 
preached  a  sermon  at  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention  in 
Jefferson  on  the  text:  "What  I  do  thou  knowest  not  now, 
but  thou  shalt  know  hereafter."  In  this  discussion  he  quoted 
verbatim  the  entire  poem  on  the  two  weavers,  one  that  I  have 
never  seen  anywhere  except  in  Goodrich's  old  "Fourth 
Reader."  One  weaver  was  complaining  that  everything  went 
wrong;  the  other  believed  that  everything  went  right,  and 
he  said  to  his  brother  weaver :  "You  see  in  part  only.  Let 
your  carpet  instruct  you.  While  in  the  loom  you  see  only  its 
outside.  There  appears  to  be  a  chaotic  jumble — warp  and 
woof  and  flying  shuttle.  But  when  complete  and  the  rolls 
are  fitted  on  the  floor,  the  pattern  is  plain.  Fragments  of 
design  in  one  roll  find  their  counterpart  in  another.  So  to 
us  just  now  the  world  is  a  carpet  inside  out — it  is  yet  in  the 
weaving — at  the  end  the  design  and  the  pattern  will  appear." 
I  thought  I  had  never  heard  anything  more  appropriate  than 
this  illustration. 

"Now,"  says  Paul,  "those  angels  up  yonder  are  flaming 
spirits,  but  there  are  many  things  they  do  not  know.  They 
have  had  their  curiosity  aroused  ever  since  Christ  inter- 
posed to  save  man,  *which  things  the  angels  desired  to  look 
into.'  "  On  the  mercy-seat  the  curiosity  of  the  angels  is  rep- 
resented by  two  golden  cherubim  on  either  side  leaning  over, 


132     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

looking  down  where  the  blood  is  dropping.  These  heavenly- 
students  are  trying  to  study  out  God's  wisdom,  and  God's 
wisdom  is  manifold,  it  is  rolled  up  in  a  great  roll  and  the 
angels  cannot  see.  The  church  comes  along  and  takes  hold 
of  the  roll  and  unrolls,  unrolls,  unrolls,  the  many  folds,  and 
as  the  church  unrolls,  the  angels  behold  the  manifold  wisdom 
of  God. 

That  is  a  beautiful  thought.  It  elevates  one  in  his  own 
mind  to  know  that  he  is  helping  explain  difficult  things  to 
the  angels.  Not  only  were  the  apostles  a  "spectacle  to  the 
angels,"  but  the  church  in  its  work  is  a  spectacle  to  the  angels, 
in  unfolding  to  their  view  the  marvelous  election,  foreordina- 
tion,  predestination,  and  foreknowledge  of  God,  developed 
in  redemption  and  made  apparent  through  the  ministry  of  the 
church  in  preaching  the  gospel.  The  church  comes  opening 
one  door  and  sets  Jerusalem  on  fire,  and  the  angels  clap 
their  hands  and  praise  God — 3,000  Jews  saved.  The  church 
turns  a  key,  throws  open  another  door,  and  the  Gentiles 
come  in.  The  angels  clap  their  hands  and  sing,  "Glory  to 
God  in  the  highest."  The  church  goes  to  Ephesus,  100,000 
perhaps  are  converted  there ;  it  crosses  the  Bosphorus  and 
enters  Europe,  goes  to  Athens,  Corinth,  and  to  Rome  itself. 
From  there  it  goes  to  Britain,  and  then  on  gospel  wings 
it  flies  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  the  gospel  is  carried  across 
the  American  continent,  rises  in  another  flight  to  the  islands 
of  the  sea,  the  Orient,  flies  over  the  walls  of  China,  and 
goes  into  Thibet,  that  darkest,  most  isolated  place  in  the 
world.    All  of  that  the  angels  learn  as  the  kingdom  develops. 

We  come  now  to  a  point  that  always  thrilled  me. 

/  never  could  understand  why  some  Baptists  rejoice  to 
say  there  is  no  church-succession. 

I  would  like  for  them  to  take  hold  of  these  two  passages 
in  this  chapter,  "To  the  intent  that  now  unto  the  principalities 
and  the  powers  in  the  heavenly  places  might  be  made  known 
through  the  church  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God,  according 


PAUL'S  SECOND  GREAT  PRAYER         133 

to  the  eternal  purpose  which  He  purposed  in  Christ  Jesus 
our  Lord,"  coupled  with  the  last  verse,  "Unto  Him  be  the 
glory  in  the  church  and  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  all  generations 
forever  and  ever.    Amen." 

Whenever  church-work  stops,  then  the  glory  stops.  Did 
God  intend  for  it  to  stop?  If  He  did,  why  did  He  say,  ''Lo, 
I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world?'*  And 
why  should  we  tell  the  church  when  celebrating  the  Lord's 
Supper,  "As  often  as  you  do  this  you  show  forth  the  Lord's 
death  till  He  come?"    Why  does  He  provide  for  perpetuity? 

I  am  not  discussing  church  history  now.  I  am  discussing 
God's  purpose  in  establishing  the  church.  Jesus  said,  "The 
gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  I  do  not  believe 
they  have.  They  have  never  been  able  to  convince  me  that 
the  gates  of  hell  have  prevailed  against  the  church. 

/  believe  that  God  not  only  has  had  people  in  all  ages,  but 
that  He  has  had  an  organised  people. 

He  provided  for  transmission :  "The  things  which  I  have 
committed  to  you,  the  same  commit  thou  to  faithful  men." 
How  do  men  have  faith  ?  By  hearing.  How  can  they  hear 
without  a  preacher,  and  how  can  they  have  a  preacher  unless 
he  be  sent?  Did  He  not  send  the  church  all  gifts — apostolic 
gifts,  prophetic  gifts,  evangelistic  gifts  and  pastoral  gifts? 
He  set  every  one  of  them  in  the  church.  The  apostles  and 
prophets  served  the  church;  when  they  were  taken  away, 
there  remained  pastors,  evangelists,  teachers.  On  whose 
authority?  Christ's.  Where  placed?  In  the  church.  I  am 
satisfied  that  if  the  angels,  after  watching  the  unfolding  of 
the  wisdom  of  God  in  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  from  the 
time  Christ  died  until  the  time  the  apostles  died,  they  have 
not  had  a  recess  since  of  a  thousand  years.  They  are  not  left 
in  suspense,  vainly  bending  over  to  learn  more  through  silent 
centuries.  The  school  goes  right  on.  The  purposes  ripen. 
The  ordinances  continue  to  tell  their  story.  Churches  come 
from  churches  somewhat  as  horses  come  from  horses.    His- 


134     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

tory  cannot  trace  every  detail  of  the  pedigree  showing  how  a 
certain  drove  of  wild  mustangs  in  western  Texas  are  de- 
scendants of  the  Spanish  barbs,  brought  here  by  the  dis- 
coverers 400  years  ago.  The  fact  that  the  mustangs  are  here 
proves  the  succession,  since  only  like  begets  like. 

/  do  not  undervalue  church  history,  hut  far  more  impor- 
tant to  me  than  fallible  human  records  of  passing  events  is 
the  New  Testament  forecast  of  church  history.  The  former 
may  err — the  latter  never. 

Before  the  "Louisiana  Baptist  Historical  Society"  it  was 
my  pleasure  to  discuss  this  very  theme. 

We  now  consider  the  marvelous  second  prayer  of  Paul  for 
the  Ephesians,  which  is  the  ninth  item  of  the  analysis.  The 
petitioner  is  Paul.  He  is  a  prisoner.  The  chain  on  his  hand 
clanks  with  every  line  he  writes.  But  the  Word  of  God  is  not 
chained,  the  Spirit  of  God  is  not  chained,  and  the  spirit  of  this 
man  who  prays  is  not  chained.  It  is  amazing  that  a  man  in 
his  circumstances  could  so  far  forget  himself  in  the  riches 
of  his  benevolence  and  go  out  in  his  supplications  and  entreat 
for  such  blessings  as  are  embodied  in  this  petition. 

The  next  thought  is  the  relation  of  this  prayer  to  preceding 
things.  This  relation  is  expressed  in  these  words :  "For  this 
cause  I  pray."  What  cause?  It  has  just  been  stated:  first, 
that  it  was  the  purpose  of  God  that  the  Gentiles  should  be 
fellow-heirs,  and  that  Paul  was  the  minister  selected  who 
should  preach  to  these  Gentiles  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
was  open  to  them.  So  it  was  for  this  cause — ^because  God 
intended  that  they  should  have  these  benefits,  and  because 
He  designated  Paul  as  the  instrument  by  which  they  should 
come  to  them,  therefore  he  prayed. 

Let  us  look  at  the  attitude  which  was  very  reverent  and 
very  deliberate:  "I  bow  my  knees."  To  whom?  To  the 
Father.  There  is  a  modifying  phrase  that  we  need  now  to 
consider,  bearing  on  why  he  prayed  to  Him,  and  especially 
why  Paul  prayed  to  Him  in  this  connection.    This  modifying 


PAUL'S  SECOND  GREAT  PRAYER        135 

phrase  is  "from  whom  every  family  in  heaven  and  earth  is 
named."  There  is  something  in  the  modifying  clause  sug- 
gesting why  Paul  offers  this  petition  to  the  Father,  but  we 
have  a  difficulty  in  determining  what  it  means.  The  common 
version  reads :  "For  whom  the  whole  family  in  heaven  and 
earth  is  named."  It  is  very  easy  to  understand  what  that 
idea  is.    It  is  exactly  the  idea  expressed  in  this  hymn : 


"Let  saints  on  earth  unite  to  sing 
With  those  to  glory  gone ; 
For  all  the  servants  of  the  King 
In  heaven  and  earth  are  one. 


"One  family  we  dwell  in  Him, 

One  church  above,  beneath. 
Though  now  divided  by  the  stream, 
The  narrow  stream  of  death." 


If  the  King  James  version  is  the  correct  rendering,  that 
is  what  it  means,  and  we  can  see  the  idea  at  once  when  he 
prays  to  the  Father  from  whom  the  whole  family,  Jews  and 
Gentiles,  those  in  heaven  and  those  on  earth,  and  those  yet 
to  be  born,  is  named.  It  is  a  very  beautiful  thought.  The 
objection  to  that  being  the  proper  rendering  is  that  there  is 
no  article  in  the  Greek,  and  therefore  grammatically  the  re- 
vised version  is  more  accurate,  not  referring  to  the  whole 
family  collectively  but  distributively :  "From  whom  every 
family  is  named,"  that  is,  those  who  go  to  heaven  may  con- 
stitute a  family;  down  here  on  earth  they  are  not  all  as- 
sembled in  one.  There  was  a  family  at  Rome,  one  at  Corinth 
and  one  at  Ephesus.  In  this  sense  the  word  "family"  is  a 
synonym  for  "church."  Which  is  correct  ?  The  revised  ver- 
sion is  very  accurate :  "I  pray  unto  the  Father,  from  whom 
every  family  in  heaven  and  on  earth  is  named."  Every 
church  is  named,  whether  you  conceive  of  it  as  the  church 
of  the  spirits  of  the  just,  made  perfect  in  glory,  or  distribu- 
tively, each  particular  congregation  of  Christ's  disciples  here 


136     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

upon  earth.  There  is,  quite  possibly,  another  meaning  which 
we  find  in  the  margin  of  our  Bible:  "From  whom  every 
Fatherhood  is  named."  That  does  not  make  the  sense  mate- 
rially different  from  the  sense  of  the  revised  text.  Father- 
hood upon  earth  is  a  reflection  of  the  true  fatherhood  in 
Heaven.  All  fatherhood  gets  its  idea  and  ideal  from  God, 
the  Father. 

These  are  the  three  possible  meanings  of  this  passage.  I 
do  not  like  to  be  on  the  fence  myself,  and  after  studying 
about  it  a  great  deal.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  King 
James  version  has  the  true  idea,  and  I  am  quite  sure  it  can 
be  defended  exegetically  and  grammatically,  because  we  find 
in  the  Greek  New  Testament  four  or  five  places  where  the 
article  is  absent  and  yet  the  unity  is  there,  and  it  is  so  ren- 
dered by  the  revisers  themselves.  I  think  this  makes  the  best 
sense  and  connects  better  with  Paul's  thought.  He  has  just 
been  telling  them  that  under  the  old  economy  the  Gentiles 
were  aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  without  God, 
and  without  hope  in  the  world,  but  that  under  the  new  revela- 
tion of  the  mystery  of  God's  purpose  it  is  evident  He  in- 
tended Jew  and  Gentile  to  be  one  in  Christ.  And  he  is  speak- 
ing of  the  unity  continually,  the  gathering  together,  and  I 
prefer  that  translation:  "From  whom  the  whole  family  in 
heaven  and  earth  is  named."  The  Gentile  belongs  to  that 
family  just  as  much  as  the  Jew. 

So  we  advance  in  our  thought.  We  have  Paul  the  peti- 
tioner, the  Father  petitioned,  and  the  power  according  to 
which  he  asks  that  things  be  granted — "according  to  the 
riches  of  His  glory."  What  does  he  ask  for?  We  see  the 
whole  Trinity  in  this:  The  Father  is  the  source,  therefore 
the  petition  is  addressed  to  Him.  He  asks  one  blessing  that 
touches  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  third  person  in  the  Trinity,  and 
several  touching  Christ,  the  second  person  in  the  Trinity. 
The  first  thing  for  which  he  asks  is  strength :  "That  ye  may 
be  strengthened  with  power  through  His  Spirit  in  the  inward 


PAUL'S  SECOND  GREAT  PRAYER         137 

man."  We  often  see  physical  giants,  like  John  L.  Sullivan, 
Jim  Jeffries,  strong  on  the  outside  but  not  strong  on  the 
inside.  Then  we  see  some  frail,  weak  men,  like  William  of 
Orange,  who  was  so  sick  that  he  could  not  stand  up,  but 
strong  inside  and  commanding  his  army.  And  we  see  the 
general  on  the  other  side,  the  Duke  of  Luxemburg,  who  was 
so  frail  and  sick  that  his  soldiers  had  to  carry  him  about  on 
a  litter.  A  man  who  did  not  have  strength  inside  would 
have  been  whining  in  the  hospital  and  asking  for  a  furlough, 
but  these  two  generals  were  strong  inside,  and  they  directed 
their  armies  while  they  fought  one  of  the  most  famous  battles 
of  history.  Even  so,  and  more  so,  is  it  with  the  Christian. 
The  outward  man  perishes,  but  the  inward  man  is  renewed 
day  by  day.  The  fact  is  that  no  man  is  whipped  until  he  is 
whipped  inside,  and  when  whipped  inside  he  is  whipped  alto- 
gether. Just  as  long  as  his  soul  is  firm  and  steadfast  he  is 
invincible  by  any  force  that  can  be  sent  against  him. 

We  will  now  look  at  the  Christ-side  of  it,  and  there  are 
several  parts  in  that.  First,  "that  Christ  may  dwell  in  your 
hearts  through  faith."  There  is  a  great  difference  between 
taking  permanent  residence  and  paying  an  occasional  visit. 
It  seems  that  some  Christians,  at  occasional  intervals,  receive 
visits  from  Christ,  not  very  welcome  visits  on  their  part, 
and  He  has  to  stand  outside  and  knock :  "Behold,  I  stand  at 
the  door  and  knock."  Paul  does  not  pray  for  that,  but  that 
Christ  may  dwell  in  their  hearts  through  faith.  That  means 
to  abide,  not  just  a  visitor  staying  over  night,  but  owning 
the  house  and  living  in  it,  and  He  can  dwell  in  your  hearts 
only  through  faith. 

The  second  thing  is  stability :  "That  being  rooted  [that  is 
the  image  of  a  tree]  and  grounded  [there  he  changes  the 
figure  to  a  house  with  strong  foundations]  in  love."  That  is 
stability.  Look  at  a  China  tree;  a  little  wind  will  blow  it 
over.  Why  ?  Because  it  has  no  tap  root.  One  cannot  turn 
over  a  post,  but  he  can  turn  over  a  block  of  wood  that  is  rest- 


138     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

ing  on  the  ground.  The  use  of  the  lateral  roots  of  the  tree 
is  to  feed  the  tree.  All  of  those  little  fibrous  roots  close  to 
the  top  of  the  ground  furnish  the  tree  food  and  water.  But 
that  big  root  that  goes  straight  down  is  not  to  feed  it,  but  to 
hold  it  firmly.  So  Paul  prays  for  stability :  "being  rooted  and 
grounded."  Some  of  those  buildings  in  San  Francisco  with 
their  rock  foundations  and  steel  frames,  the  rock  holding 
them  together  under  the  ground  and  the  steel  frames  holding 
them  together  above  the  ground,  were  not  shaken  by  even 
the  earthquake. 

The  third  thing  is,  "That  ye  may  be  strong  to  apprehend 
with  all  the  saints."  Apprehend  what  ?  Certain  dimensions 
— breadth,  length,  heighth,  and  depth  of  the  love  of  Christ. 
In  other  words,  "I  pray  that  you  may  be  able  to  apprehend 
the  dimensions  of  the  love  of  Christ ;  that  you  may  see  how 
high  it  is,  how  deep  it  is,  how  broad  it  is  and  how  long  it  is." 
All  the  saints  are  invited  to  join  in  it.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  said 
that  he  was  just  a  little  child  on  the  coast  picking  up  shells. 
He  claimed  not  to  know  much.  So  Paul  said,  "I  have  not 
apprehended  all  things  for  which  He  laid  hold  of  me,  but  I 
pray  that  you  Ephesians  may  be  strong  to  apprehend  the 
dimensions  of  the  love  of  Christ." 

The  fourth  thing  is  knowledge — "to  know  the  love  of 
Christ."  That  refers  to  personal  experience,  not  a  mental 
conception,  but  a  realization  of  it  in  the  heart,  i.  e.,  to  know 
experimentally  the  love  of  Christ.  We  learn  some  things 
about  Christ  intellectually  and  put  them  in  our  hearts  and 
assimilate  them,  but  let  us  learn  them  personally.  As  each 
lesson  comes,  let  us  put  it  in  our  hearts  and  learn  it  per- 
sonally. That  is  why  we  are  called  upon  to  know  the  love 
of  Christ  which  passeth  knowledge.  We  know  now  in  part, 
but  not  altogether. 

The  fifth  thing  connected  with  Christ  that  he  prays  for, 
"That  ye  may  be  filled  unto  all  the  fulness  of  God."  Paul 
is  not  here  offering  a  prayer  for  one  person,  but  he  is  pray- 


PAUL'S  SECOND  GREAT  PRAYER        139 

ing  for  the  church,  which  is  the  temple  of  God,  and  the 
temple  of  God  is  to  have  the  fulness  of  God. 

Several  years  ago  in  a  controversy  I  quoted  this  passage 
and  a  man  asked,  "What  do  you  get  out  of  that  ?  I  have  read 
it  many  times  but  I  do  not  get  anything  out  of  it."  I  said, 
"The  church  is  the  habitation  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Holy 
Spirit  is  in  the  church,  not  in  part  of  His  power,  but  in  the 
fulness  of  His  power.  The  church  has  the  fulness,  but  may 
not  have  the  realization  of  the  fulness.  You  let  a  church  get 
into  a  great  meeting  and  those  who  have  been  doing  wrong 
repent  and  confess;  and  those  who  have  become  alienated 
become  reconciled,  the  proud  become  humbled,  and  the  selfish 
become  unselfish,  those  who  could  not  pray  learn  to  pray, 
and  in  that  realization  they  begin  to  pray  for  big  things. 
Before  that,  if  they  could  get  fifteen  or  twenty  around  one 
sinner,  they  might  have  faith  enough  to  pray  for  him,  but 
now  they  pray  for  men  who  are  far  off." 

I  have  seen  the  old  Waco  church  in  the  fulness  of  God.  I 
went  down  one  day  in  the  great  meeting  and  my  nerves 
tingled;  I  could  feel  prickling  sensations  running  all  over 
me,  the  presence  of  God  was  so  sensibly  felt.  I  asked  the 
church  to  pray  for  a  certain  one  who  was  very  dear  to  me. 
They  got  down  and  prayed  a  very  short,  sweet  prayer,  and 
that  very  moment  while  the  words  were  still  coming  from 
the  lips  of  the  one  offering  the  petition,  God  converted  that 
man  from  infidelity,  and  on  the  next  train  he  was  at  the 
church  to  tell  them  how  he  was  saved  at  the  very  hour  of 
the  prayer. 

These  are  the  five  things  in  connection  with  Christ :  The 
indwelling  of  Christ  by  faith,  being  rooted  and  grounded 
in  love,  to  be  able  to  apprehend  the  dimensions  of  Christ's 
love,  to  know  the  love  of  Christ  and  to  be  filled  with  the 
fulness  of  God. 

That  brings  us  to  the  benediction.  That  benediction  is  an 
offering  of  glory.     To  whom?    To  the  Father.     In  what 


140     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

sphere?  In  the  church.  Through  what  medium?  Christ. 
How  long?  World  without  end.  That  means  church  per- 
petuity. 

,     QUESTIONS 

1.  What  two  items  of  analysis  are  discussed  in  this  chapter? 

2.  What  characteristic  of  Paul's  letters  appears  in  the  beginning 
of  the  chapter,  and  wherein  does  he  differ  from  some  other 
preachers  ? 

3.  What  special  relation  of  Paul  to  those  addressed  was  the 
reason  of  the  prayer  now  to  be  offered? 

4.  What  passage  in  Galatians  bears  on  the  matter,  and  does  this 
justify  our  present  division  of  the  missionary  work  into  two  distinct 
departments — home  and  foreign? 

5.  How  did  he  receive  this  dispensation  of  the  grace  of  God, 
and  what  the  bearing  of  it  on  the  question  of  a  human  pope? 

6.  What  three  passages  in  Acts  give  the  history  of  this  commit- 
ment of  the  Gentile  work  to  Paul? 

7.  Where  do  we  also  find  in  Acts  a  revelation  from  God  to  the 
church  to  ordain  Paul  to  this  work  unto  which  our  Lord  had  called 
him,  and  what  two  things  does  this  prove? 

8.  How  do  you  explain  the  phrase,  "As  I  wrote  you  before  in  a 
few  words  ?" 

9.  What  the  meaning  of  "mystery"  here  as  distinguished  from 
its  meaning  in  I  Tim.  3:  16  and  Rev.  17:  5? 

10.  What  additional  thought  in  Paul's  conception  of  his  mission, 
and  to  what  marvelously  glorious  end? 

11.  What  then  the  relation  of  the  church  to  angels? 

12.  What  the  lesson  and  application  in  the  story  of  the  two 
weavers  ? 

13.  Cite  two  passages  in  this  chapter  having  a  bearing  on  church 
perpetuity,  and  explain  the  bearing. 

14.  Which  the  more  important,  the  New  Testament  forecast 
of  church  perpetuity  or  the  testimony  of  church  history  on  that 
point,  and  why? 

15.  What  verses  of  this  chapter  contain  Paul's  second  great 
prayer  for  those  addressed? 

16.  On  this  prayer  answer:  (i)  What  the  circumstances  of  the 
petitioner?  (2)  What  not  chained?  (3)  What  the  cause  of  the 
prayer?  (4)  What  the  attitude  or  posture  of  the  petitioner?  (5) 
To  whom  addressed?  (6)  What  the  three  varied  renderings  of  the 
clause  modifying  the  Father,  what  the  difference  in  meaning,  and 
which  do  you  prefer? 

17.  Name  the  things  asked  for  in  this  prayer. 

18.  Illustrate  how  a  church  may  now  be  filled  with  all  the  fulness 
of  God. 


XIII 

THE  GREAT  UNITIES 
Scripture:  Eph.  4:1-16 

WE  have  come  to  the  tenth  division  of  our  analysis  of 
Ephesians — The  Great  Unities,  and  the  Means  of 
Securing  Their  Recognition.  The  importance  of 
this  section,  Eph.  4: 1-16,  cannot  be  overstated.  It  would 
be  well  to  memorize  this  section  verbatim.  It  would  be  well 
for  the  reader  to  drill  himself  on  it  until  every  thought  in  it  is 
rooted  unto  such  stability  that  no  whirlwind  could  uproot  the 
sturdy  oak  tree  of  his  faith  or,  changing  the  figure,  until 
the  composite  structure  of  his  faith  is  so  grounded  in  the 
rock,  so  tied  at  the  corners,  so  compacted  in  each  layer  of 
stones,  so  jointed  and  roofed  that  no  storm  of  wind  and  wave 
could  undermine,  tear  apart,  or  shake  it  down.  These  nine 
unities  are  thus  named : 

One  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  over  all,  and  through  all, 
and  in  all. 

One  Lord,  who  is  Jesus  Christ. 

One  bond  of  peace,  which  is  Christ's  atonement. 

One  Spirit,  which  is  the  Holy  Spirit. 

One  calling,  meaning  the  inheritance  to  which  we  are 
called. 

One  body,  which  is  the  church. 

One  act  of  Faith,  by  which  we  have  access  into  grace. 

One  baptism,  a  prerequisite  of  church  membership. 

One  system  of  Faith,  i.e.,  "The  Faith,"  which  is  the 
church-creed, 

141 


14^     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

In  a  true  sense  this  chapter  begins  the  practical  side  of  the 
letter :  "I  therefore,  the  prisoner  of  the  Lord,  beseech  you  to 
walk  worthily  of  the  calling  wherewith  ye  were  called,  with 
all  lowliness  and  meekness,  with  longsuffering,  forbearing 
one  another  in  love ;  giving  diligence  to  keep  the  unity  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace." 

From  doctrines  come  morals.  The  relation  is  philosophical 
and  the  bond  is  indissoluble.  All  the  modern  hue  and  cry 
against  dogma  is  really  against  morals.  The  more  we  reduce 
the  number  of  the  creed-articles,  the  more  we  undermine 
practical  religion. 

Neither  Christ  nor  the  apostles  predicate  morals  on  any 
other  than  a  doctrinal  foundation.  If  we  are  to  walk  worthily 
of  our  calling,  we  must  first  know  the  doctrine  of  the  calling, 
that  is,  unto  what  we  were  called.  And  all  our  "lowliness 
and  meekness  and  longsuffering  and  forbearance  toward  each 
other,  and  diligent  keeping  of  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the 
bond  of  peace"  are  dependent  on  the  antecedent  doctrines 
set  forth,  otherwise  there  is  no  force  in  Paul's  "therefore." 
And  what  one  of  the  doctrines  in  the  three  preceding  chap- 
ters or  in  this  can  we  omit  from  our  creed  without  omitting 
something  profitable  in  our  life?  A  Christian's  creed  should 
enlarge,  and  not  diminish,  up  to  the  last  utterance  of  revela- 
tion in  order  that  each  article  might  be  transmuted  into 
experience. 

A  church  with  a  little  creed  is  a  church  with  a  little  life. 
The  more  divine  doctrines  a  church  can  agree  on,  the  greater 
its  power,  and  the  wider  its  usefulness.  The  fewer  its 
articles  of  faith,  the  fewer  its  bonds  of  union  and  compact- 
ness. 

The  modern  cry:  "Less  creed  and  more  liberty,"  is  a 
degeneration  from  the  vertebrate  to  the  jelly-fish,  and  means 
less  unity  and  less  morality,  and  it  means  more  heresy. 
Definitive  truth  does  not  create  heresy — it  only  exposes  and 
corrects.    Shut  off  the  creed  and  the  Christian  world  would 


THE  GREAT  UNITIES  143 

fill  up  with  heresy  unsuspected  and  uncorrected,  but  none  the 
less  deadly. 

Just  so  it  is  not  good  discipline  that  creates  backsliding 
and  other  sins  of  Christians.  But  discipline  is  oftentimes 
the  only  means  of  saving  a  church.  To  hold  to  discipline  for 
immoralities  and  relax  it  on  doctrine  puts  the  cart  before  the 
horse  and  attempts  to  heal  a  stream  while  leaving  the  foun- 
tain impure.  To  Christ  and  the  apostles  false  creeds  were 
the  most  deadly  things,  and  called  most  for  the  use  of  the 
knife.  Let  us  apply  these  reflections  to  the  great  unities  in 
this  chapter : 

1.  One  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  over  all,  through  all 
and  in  all.  That  declaration  not  only  dethrones  the  idols 
of  the  world,  but  digs  under  the  multitudinous  and  gross 
immoralities  arising  from  the  idolatries.  Not  only  so,  but 
it  uproots  all  the  false  philosophies  and  cosmogonies;  for 
example.  Materialism,  Pantheism,  Stoicism,  Epicurianism 
(more  recently  labeled  Darwinian  evolution),  and  the  like. 

2.  "One  Lord."  This  limits  revelation,  mediation,  priest- 
hood and  kingly  rule  to  Jesus  the  Messiah,  the  image  of  God. 
How  vast  the  sweep  of  this  exclusive  truth,  and  how  multi- 
tudinous the  immoralities  it  outlaws ! 

3.  "One  bond  of  peace."  That  is  one  sacrifice  through 
which  our  peace  with  God  is  secured  and  our  peace  with 
each  other  is  assured.  Apart  from  this  there  is  no  real  peace 
between  God  and  man,  and  between  man  and  man. 

4.  "One  Spirit."  This  limits  the  vicarship  and  the  vice- 
gerency  to  one,  and  so  not  only  cuts  off  the  head  of  Pope  and 
king  who  claim  to  be  vicars  of  Christ,  but  outlaws  all  ap- 
proaches to  Christ  or  interpretations  of  Him  not  directed  by 
the  Spirit,  and  closes  up  the  way  to  all  immoral  attempts  to 
penetrate  the  future  through  demon,  wizard,  witch,  diviner 
or  soothsayer.  Moreover,  it  limits  all  application  of  the 
atonement  to  the  Holy  Spirit. 

5.  "One  calling."   This  refers  not  only  to  the  act  of  calKng, 


lU     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

but  to  the  inheritance  to  which  we  are  called.  It  means  the 
complete  salvation  of  man  and  his  heavenly  home,  with  all  the 
riches  of  its  glory.  We  are  all  going  to  one  place — ^the 
heavenly  land  of  promise. 

6.  "One  body,"  or  one  church.  Applying  this  to  the  re- 
deemed in  the  aggregate,  it  limits  salvation  to  those  in  Christ 
and  vitally  connected  with  Him.  Applying  it  as  we  may  and 
must  to  the  time  institution  He  established,  it  overturns  the 
claims  of  all  human  institutions  affecting  equality  with  God's 
institution,  or  assuming  the  right  to  be  recognized  as  a  branch 
thereof.  Applying  it  as  we  may,  and  as  Paul  does,  to  a  par- 
ticular church,  the  only  expression  of  the  institution,  it 
excludes  all  so  called  churches  not  modeled  after  the  New 
Testament  pattern  in  its  terms  of  membership,  polity,  doc- 
trines, ordinances,  and  officers. 

7.  "One  faith."  This,  construed  with  verses  13  and  14 
below,  as  it  may  be  construed,  would  evidently  not  refer  to 
an  individual's  trust  in  Jesus,  but  to  the  system,  or  body  of 
truth  taught  by  Christ  and  the  apostles.  But  construed  with 
baptism  and  the  body,  which  is  a  nearer  and  better  connec- 
tion, then  it  means  two  things : 

(a)  The  one  means  of  contact  with  Christ,  i.e.,  "by  faith 
we  enter  into  this  grace  wherein  we  stand,"  and  so  becomes 
an  essential  prerequisite  to  church  membership  and  to  sal- 
vation. 

(b)  It  would  also  mean  one  definite  transaction  through 
which  justification  comes  once  for  all.  The  thought  excludes 
the  heresy  that  we  may  lose  justification  and  so  be  under  the 
necessity  of  repeating  the  saving  act  of  faith.  Faith,  in  the 
act  of  receiving  and  relying  on  Christ  for  justification,  is  not 
repeated.  It  is  one  faith.  We  may  go  on,  we  may  not  go 
back  to  relay  the  foundation.  This  one  definite  act  of  faith 
is  instantaneous.  It  receives  Christ,  as  a  woman  in  marriage 
takes  a  man  to  be  her  husband.  It  commits  the  keeping  of 
the  soul  to  Christ  and  relies  on  His  ability  to  keep  that  which 


THE  GREAT  UNITIES  145 

IS  so  committed  until  the  judgment  day.  Neither  the  taking 
,  in  marriage  nor  the  making  of  a  deposit  is  progressive  or 
contingent.  And  so  justification,  following  faith,  is  not  con- 
tingent nor  progressive.  It  is  a  declaration  of  the  court  of 
the  last  resort  that  one  is  acquitted  definitely,  at  once,  and  is 
forever  free. 

8.  "One  baptism."  The  reference  here  is  unquestionably 
to  the  ordinance  of  water  baptism  that  follows  faith  and  pre- 
cedes church  membership.  By  a  figure  of  speech  other  things 
are  called  baptism.  The  overwhelming  of  Christ  in  suffer- 
ing is  so  called  (Luke  12:50).  The  overwhelming  of  the 
saints  in  the  outpoured  Spirit  is  so  called  (Acts  1:5).  The 
final  overwhelming  of  sinners  in  the  penal  fires  of  judgment 
is  so  called  (Matt.  3 :  10-12).  But  these  figures  of  speech — 
baptism  in  suffering,  baptism  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  baptism  in 
fire — gather  their  significance  from  a  likeness  in  the  over- 
whelming act  to  the  immersion  of  a  believer  in  water.  The 
one  baptism  of  our  text  means  the  one  immersion  in  water 
according  to  Christ's  example  and  precept.  It  therefore 
implies  two  things : 

(a)  Baptism  is  one  definite  thing — immersion — and  not 
permissibly  one  of  three  things — sprinkling,  pouring,  or 
immersion. 

The  baptism  of  our  Lord  in  the  river  Jordan  settles  the 
whole  matter  and  fixes  the  particular  meaning,  even  if  the 
word  had  many  meanings,  for  John,  in  baptizing  Jesus,  did 
only  one  thing.  He  either  sprinkled  or  poured  water  on 
Christ  or  immersed  Christ  in  water.    He  did  not  do  all  three. 

What  he  did  is  the  one  baptism,  for  when,  through  His 
disciples,  Christ  also  baptized,  and  baptized  more  than  John 
did,  the  act  was  the  same  as  that  to  which  He  had  submitted 
himself  (John  3:22,  23  and  4:  i,  2).  And  what  He  sub- 
mitted to  himself  that  He  also  commanded  to  be  done  by  His 
disciples  (Matt.  28:  19). 

(b)  It  is  not  only  one  thing  as  distinguished  from  others. 


140     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

but  one  in  that,  unlike  the  Lord's  Supper,  it  may  not  be  re^ 
peated,  when  the  elements  of  its  validity  are  all  present. 
These  elements  are:  (i)  proper  authority;  (2)  proper  sub- 
ject; (3)  proper  act;  (4)  proper  design,  upon  all  of  which 
the  receiving  church  must  pass  judgment.  By  the  consensus 
of  Christendom,  baptism  is  prerequisite  to  church  member- 
ship, and  consequently  to  participation  in  the  Lord's  Supper, 
which  is  peculiarly  a  church  ordinance. 

9.  "The  unity  of  the  faith"  (verse  13).  Here  certainly, 
if  not  in  verse  5,  the  reference  is  to  the  system  or  body  of 
truth  constituting  the  creed  of  the  church,  as  sufficiently 
appears  from  its  direct  connection  with  verse  14.  It  cer- 
tainly teaches  the  importance  of  all  gospel  truth,  and  the 
necessity  of  bringing  all  babes  in  Christ,  or  new  converts, 
into  unity  of  belief  to  safeguard  them  from  divisions  and 
from  becoming  the  prey  of  cunning  craftiness,  to  hedge 
against  shifting  from  doctrine  to  doctrine,  all  in  order  to 
their  reciprocal  growth  so  as  to  affect  the  maturity  of  the 
church  in  Christian  knowledge  and  the  consequent  maturity 
of  development  as  the  body  of  Christ. 

"The  faith"  here  coincides  with  its  use  in  Jude  3:  "Be- 
loved, while  I  was  giving  all  diligence  to  write  unto  you  of 
our  common  salvation,  I  was  constrained  to  write  unto  you 
exhorting  you  to  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  which  was 
once  for  all  delivered  unto  the  saints/*  Here  is  a  sacred 
deposit  of  truth  called  "the  faith" — a  deposit  delivered  to 
the  saints — a  fixed  deposit  delivered  once  for  all.  This  truth 
certain  heresiarchs,  who  had  crept  privately  into  the  church, 
were  seeking  to  undermine,  "denying  our  only  Master  and 
Lord,  Jesus  Christ."  And  as  Jude  shows  powerfully  this 
departure  from  the  faith  was  followed  by  immorality  in  life. 

Paul  refers  to  this  deposit  and  its  sanctity  in  several  places. 
Notably  I  Cor.  15  :  3-8 :  "For  I  delivered  unto  you  first  of  all 
that  which  I  also  received,"  itemizing  ( I )  Christ's  death  for 
pur  sins  according  to  the  scriptures,  (2)  His  burial,  (3)  His 


THE  GREAT  UNITIES  147 

resurrection,  (4)  His  appearance.  Again,  concerning  the 
Lord's  Supper,  he  says :  "For  I  received  of  the  Lord  that 
which  I  also  deHvered  unto  you,"  I  Cor.  1 1 :  23-34.  And 
yet  again :  "Now  I  praise  you  that  ye  hold  fast  to  the  things 
handed  down,  even  as  I  delivered  them  unto  you,"  I  Cor. 
1 1 :  I .  To  Timothy  he  writes,  "O  Timothy,  guard  that  which 
is  committed  unto  thee,  turning  away  from  the  profane 
babblings  and  opposition  of  the  knowledge  which  is  falsely 
so  called ;  which  some  professing  have  erred  concerning  the 
faith"  I  Tim.  6 :  20,  21.  And  again :  "And  the  things  which 
thou  hast  heard  from  me  among  many  witnesses,  the  same 
commit  thou  to  faithful  men  who  shall  be  able  to  teach  others 
also,"  II  Tim.  2 :  2.  Thus  does  he  provide  both  for  keeping 
and  for  transmission.  Concerning  himself  about  to  die,  he 
says,  "I  have  kept  the  faith,"  II  Timothy  4:  7. 

This  body  of  truth,  constituting  the  creed  of  the  church, 
be  held  as  of  inestimable  value,  and  was  ready  to  pronounce 
anathema  against  an  angel  from  heaven  v/ho  would  preach 
any  other  gospel.  It  is  a  radical  mistake  to  say  that  these 
New  Testament  articles  of  faith  were  few  and  simple.  They 
touched,  among  other  things,  the  nature,  being,  attributes 
and  offices  of  the  triune  God ;  the  Holy  inspired  scriptures, 
the  church  with  its  polity,  terms  of  membership,  officers, 
ordinances  and  mission,  the  whole  plan  of  salvation  from 
election,  foreordination  and  predestination  to  glorification; 
the  family ;  the  citizen ;  the  whole  of  this  life,  and  the  whole 
of  the  life  to  come ;  the  ministry  of  angels  good  and  the  oppo- 
sition of  angels  bad,  and  the  final  judgment. 

Particularly  they  touched  the  personality  of  the  Messiah, 
His  pre-existence  and  deity.  His  emptying  himself  of  His 
heavenly  glory  and  prerogatives  to  assume  in  His  first 
advent  the  body  of  His  humiliation,  in  order  to  His  vicarious 
expiation  of  sin  on  the  cross,  His  going  in  His  spirit  after 
death  to  make  the  atonement  in  the  Holy  of  Holies  ;  His  sec- 
ond advent  to  earth  in  order  to  assume  His  body  of  glorifi- 


148     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

cation,  and  His  ascension  and  exaltation  to  the  throne  of  the 
universe  as  a  royal  priest ;  His  sending  of  His  vicar,  or  vice- 
gerent, the  Holy  Spirit,  to  accredit,  infill,  endue  with  power, 
and  to  abide  with  His  church  on  earth ;  His  third  advent  to 
assume  His  mystical  body,  the  glorified  church,  to  raise  the 
dead  and  judge  the  world. 

Broad  as  is  the  foregoing  statement,  it  does  not  include  all 
the  clearly  defined  articles  of  the  New  Testament  faith.  So 
the  reader  may  find  it  interesting  and  profitable  to  study  in 
connection  with  the  nine  unities  of  Ephesians  4:1-16,  Romans 
12 : 4,  5, 1  Cor.  12 :  12-31,  and  these  other  scriptural  declara- 
tions or  summaries  of  the  faith :  Matt.  16 :  16,  28 :  18-20,  Rom. 
8:  28-30;  I  Cor.  5:1-8  and  especially  I  Tim.  3 :  15-18.  The 
last  is  quite  important,  for  after  setting  forth  that  the  church 
is  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  faith,  i.e.,  the  keeper,  con- 
servator, publisher,  illustrator  and  vindicator  of  the  truth, 
the  apostle  then  summarizes  the  elements  of  the  truth — at 
least  the  elements  that  enter  into  the  mystery  of  godliness — ^ 
thus: 

1.  God  was  manifested  in  the  flesh. 

2.  So  manifested  He  was  justified,  or  vindicated,  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  (a)  at  His  baptism  (Matt.  3),  (b)  in  offering 
up  himself  as  a  sacrifice  (Heb.  9:  14),  (c)  in  His  resurrec- 
tion (I  Pet.  3:  18,  and  Rom.  1 14),  (d)  by  His  descent  at 
Pentecost  (Acts  2). 

3.  Though  veiled  in  the  flesh.  He  was  recognized  by  the 
angels  (Luke  2:9-14;  Matt.  3:  11;  Luke  22-43). 

4.  Preached  among  the  nations. 

5.  Believed  on  in  the  world. 

6.  Received  up  into  glory. 

Very  solemnly  I  would  warn  the  reader  against  any  teach- 
ing that  decries  doctrines,  or  which  would  reduce  the  creed 
of  the  church  into  two  or  three  articles. 

We  are  entitled  to  no  liberty  in  these  matters.  It  is  a  posi- 
tive and  very  hurtful  sin  to  magnify  liberty  at  the  expense 


THE  GREAT  UNITIES  149 

of  doctrine.  A  creed  is  what  we  believe.  A  confession  of 
faith  is  a  declaration  of  what  we  believe.  The  church  must 
both  believe  and  declare.  The  longest  creed  of  history  is 
more  valuable  and  less  hurtful  than  the  shortest. 

While  "the  faith"  has  many  articles,  there  is  unity  in 
them.  They  articulate.  And  it  is  intensely  important  to 
bring  all  members  of  the  church  into  unity  touching  all  the 
faith.    This  brings  us  to  a  consideration  of — 

The  Means  for  Securing  Unity. — These  are  all  of  divine 
appointment.  If  we  ask,  what?  They  are  all  summed  up  in 
the  one  word,  "Gifts."  These  gifts  are  men — teaching  men. 
As  here  enumerated  they  are : 

Apostles,  who  are  inspired. 

Prophets,  who  are  inspired. 

Evangelists,  who  labor  in  the  kingdom  at  large. 

Pastors  and  teachers,  or  pastor-teachers,  whose  work  is  in 
the  particular  churches. 

The  first  two  were  inspired  to  fix  the  limits  of  the  faith. 
The  second  two  were  illumined  to  understand  and  expound 
these  limits.  If  we  ask  where  are  these  gifts  set,  or  placed? 
They  are  not  in  the  church  ( i  Cor.  12 :  28) .  If  we  ask,  why, 
i.e.,  to  what  end  ?  This  is  the  answer :  "For  the  perfecting  of 
the  saints,  unto  the  work  of  ministering,  unto  the  building  up 
of  the  body  of  Christ ;  till  we  all  attain  unto  the  unity  of  the 
faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a  full- 
grown  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of 
Christ."  That  is  the  answer  to  the  positive  side.  Negatively 
it  is  expressed  thus :  "That  we  may  be  no  longer  children, 
tossed  to  and  fro  and  carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doc- 
trine, by  the  sleight  of  men,  in  craftiness,  after  the  wiles  of 
error."    The  standard  is  the  holy  scriptures. 

The  apostle  now  gives,  under  the  figure  of  head  and  body, 
as  a  livii^  organism,  the  most  vivid  description  in  the  Bible 
of  a  well  organized  and  thoroughly  instructed  church :  From 
Christ  the  head,  "all  the  body  fitly  framed  and  knit  together 


150     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

through  that  which  every  joint  supplieth,  according  to  the 
working  in  due  measure  of  each  several  part,  maketh  the 
increase  of  the  body  unto  the  building  up  of  itself  in  love." 

This  is  an  ideal  church.  It  constitutes  the  standard  of 
perfection  toward  which  every  pastor  should  work.  It 
teaches  not  only  that  each  individual  member  should  have 
vital  connection  with  Christ  through  faith,  but  should  have 
living  articulation  connecting  with  the  whole  body  of  church 
members,  and  should  contribute  in  due  measure  toward  the 
development  of  the  whole  church.  In  other  words,  it  ex- 
cludes absolutely  the  idea  of  unsaved  men  in  the  church,  and 
even  of  saved  men  who  refuse  to  be  articulated  with  others, 
and  even  those  articulated  who  will  not  co-operate  according 
to  ability.  So  that  it  provides  not  only  for  individual  salva- 
tion, but  for  the  organization  of  individuals  into  a  corpora- 
tion and  the  full  developments  of  corporate  life. 

To  change  the  figure,  it  provides  not  only  for  good  indi- 
vidual horses,  but  for  a  well  harnessed  team  of  horses  to 
pull  together ;  not  only  for  good  individual  soldiers,  but  for 
a  well-drilled  phalanx,  moving  and  fighting  as  a  unit.  One 
balking  horse  spoils  the  team.  One  deserter  from  the  line 
leaves  an  opening  through  which  the  enemy  may  penetrate 
and  break  up  the  phalanx. 

Dr.  Burleson  used  to  say  of  a  certain  town :  *Tt  has  more 
individual  excellence,  and  more  general  worthlessness  than 
any  other  town  in  Texas."  He  meant  that  they  had  no  organ- 
ized community  life.  Their  magnified  individuality  went  off 
in  every  direction  on  tangential  lines.  We  Baptists,  in  stress- 
ing individual  liberty,  are  continually  sacrificing  the  power  of 
united  forces. 

Just  so  the  present  trend  toward  cutting  off  every  article 
of  faith  to  which  some  individual  crank  may  object,  will,  if 
tamely  unresisted,  leave  the  church  without  a  creed  and  with- 
out a  moral  life.  Turning  away  from  doctrines  toward  God, 
we  necessarily  turn  away  from  the  injunction,  "Love  the 


THE  GREAT  UNITIES  151 

brotherhood."  We  need  to  restudy  Zech.  ii :  10-14.  When- 
ever the  staff,  "beauty,"  which  binds  us  to  God,  is  broken, 
then  will  be  broken  the  staff,  "bands,"  which  binds  us  to  each 
other. 

This  discussion  is  incomplete  until  we  consider  the  source 
of  the  gifts  which  make  for  corporate  unity  and  development. 
Our  text  declares  that  Christ  is  the  author  of  the  preacher- 
gifts.  The  continued  supply  of  these  gifts  results  from  His 
exaltation  to  the  mediatorial  throne  and  this  exaltation 
results  from  the  previous  humiliation.  The  one  who  ascended 
to  bestow  the  gifts  is  the  very  one  who  first  descended  to 
make  the  expiation  which  is  the  basis  of  the  gifts.  He  was 
dead,  but  is  alive  forevermore. 

We  may  close  with  these  observations:  (i)  While  even 
babes  in  Christ  may  be  received  into  the  church  for  further 
instruction  and  development,  those  appointed  to  instruct 
and  develop  must  have  far  higher  qualifications  of  charac- 
ter, capacity,  and  knowledge.  The  minimum  of  entrance 
qualification  into  the  church  can  never  be  made  the  limit 
of  the  church  creed,  and  especially  cannot  be  made  the  limit 
of  examination  for  ordination  to  the  ministry.  This  would 
assume  that  a  babe  must  teach  a  babe.  (2)  The  limit  of 
ordination  examination  on  doctrine  is  the  maximum  of 
church  creed  on  doctrine.  The  teacher  must  develop  each 
new  born  soul  unto  the  ultimate  height  of  church-belief  in 
doctrine.  Therefore  the  injunction:  "Lay  hands  suddenly 
on  no  man — not  on  a  novice."  The  minister  must  be  "apt 
to  teach."  A  teacher  is  one  long  past  the  milk  diet,  and  who 
himself  nourishes  on  stronger  meat,  by  reason  of  use  has  his 
senses  exercised  to  discern  between  good  and  evil.  He  must 
himself  be  "sound  in  the  faith."  Even  a  deacon  must  be  a 
proved-man,  "sound  in  the  faith."  (3)  Unless  "the  faith" 
is  a  needed  creed  of  definite  vital  truth,  there  is  no  basis  for 
examination  looking  to  ordination  and  no  standard  up  to 
which  the  convert  must  be  developed.    The  church,  being 


15^     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth,  must  have  a  standard  of 
truth  to  uphold  and  conserve.  Upon  the  one  point  of  the 
mystery  of  godliness,  Paul  cites  six  distinct  creed-items.  On 
the  plan  of  salvation  he  cites  many  others.  See  Rom. 
8:  28-30,  33,  34;  I  Cor.  15:  1-8;  and  on  the  ordinances  yet 
others.  (4)  As  the  church  must  publish  the  truth,  it  must 
know  what  to  publish.  As  the  church  must  illustrate  the 
truth  in  ordinances  it  must  know  the  ordinances  and  their 
import.  As  the  church  must  vindicate  the  truth  in  discipline, 
it  must  know  what  is  a  vindication  of  truth  in  either  doctrine 
or  life. 

Again,  I  solemnly  warn  the  reader  against  all  who  depre- 
ciate creeds,  or  who  would  reduce  them  to  a  minimum  of 
entrance  qualifications  into  the  church. 


QUESTIONS 

1.  Name  the  nine  unities  in  Eph.  4:  1-16. 

2.  What  side  of  the  letter  does  this  chapter  commence? 

3.  What  the  philosophical  relation  between  doctrines  and  morals  ? 

4.  What  bearing  has  this  relation  on  creeds  ? 

5.  What  the  particular  effect  of  this  modern  cry :  "Less  creeds — 
more  liberty?" 

6.  Apply  the  foregoing  to  each  one  of  the  nine  unities  in  order, 
making  clear  the  meaning  and  result  of  each,  citing  appropriate 
scriptures. 

7.  What  scriptures  may  be  profitably  studied  in  connection  with 
Eph.  4:  1-16? 

8.  Why  is  a  long  creed  better  than  a  short  one  ? 

9.  What  the  means  of  securing  unity  in  doctrine,  where  placed, 
and  why,  both  positively  and  negatively,  and  what  the  standard? 

ID.     What  the  teaching  of  Eph.  4:  16? 

11.  Who  the  source  of  the  gifts,  and  how  the  continual  supply? 

12.  What  the  difference  in  standard  between  receiving  converts 
into  a  church  and  a  man  into  the  ministry,  and  why? 


XIV 

THE  NECESSITY  OF  REGENERATION 

Scriptures:  Eph.  4: 17—5:21  and  6:1-9 

THIS  section  extends  from  4:17  to  6:9,  except  we 
leave  out  the  illustration  in  5 :  21-33,  Christ  and  the 
Bride.    That  will  follow  in  the  next  chapter. 

Attention  has  already  been  called  to  the  remarkable  paral- 
lels between  Colossians  and  Ephesians.  They  are  nowhere 
more  striking  than  in  the  exhortations  to  newness  of  life 
in  the  world  and  in  the  family.  In  both  we  find  the  sharp 
distinction  between  the  philosophy  of  a  corrupt  life  and  the 
philosophy  of  a  pure  life. 

Effects  are  traced  in  each  case  to  an  adequate  cause.  The 
unrenewed  nature  causes  the  first.  The  renewed  nature, 
which  is  a  new  creation,  causes  the  second.  Nowhere  else 
in  the  scripture,  except  perhaps  in  Romans  i  and  7,  is  there 
more  clearly  shown  the  power  and  depravity  of  original  sin, 
the  inheritance  of  sin-nature,  and  the  necessity  of  regenera- 
tion in  order  to  a  life  of  holiness.  That  is  the  capital  thought 
in  this  section. 

The  two  sources  of  such  divergent  life  are  here  called 
the  "old  man,"  and  the  "new  man."  In  the  first  the  fruit  is 
bad  because  the  tree  is  bad.  In  the  second  the  fruit  is  good 
because  the  tree  has  first  been  made  good.  The  whole  exhor- 
tation powerfully  expounds  the  words  of  our  Lord  to  Nico- 
demus :  "Except  a  man  be  born  from  above  he  cannot  see 
the  kingdom  of  God,"  therefore,  "Marvel  not  that  I  said  unto 
you,  Ye  must  be  born  again."  If  any  man  has  any  doubt 
about  the  necessity  of  regeneration,  let  him  read  this  section. 

15S 


154     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

It  is  the  most  powerful  argument  on  the  necessity  of  regen- 
eration anywhere  in  the  Bible. 

Henry  Ward  Beecher,  the  great  Congregationalist 
preacher,  who  had  several  heretical  tendencies,  was  once 
subjected  to  an  examination  on  orthodoxy  before  a  council 
of  his  people.  I  have  the  paper  which  he  submitted  at  that 
time.  One  of  the  points  on  which  he  was  examined  was  the 
subject  of  regeneration.  He  said,  "I  unswervingly  hold  to 
the  necessity  of  regeneration  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  order  to 
be  a  Christian."  That  looks  all  right.  But  when  one  of  the 
examiners  asked,  "Do  you  hold  that  regeneration  is  neces- 
sary for  any  other  reason  than  the  actual  transgressions  of 
men  ?"  What  a  searching  question  that !  His  reply  was  a 
dodge :  "I  believe  that  a  man  needs  to  be  regenerated  because 
he  is  an  animal."  He  would  not  admit  original  sin.  He 
would  not  admit  inherited  depravity.  He  said  that  the 
Adam-man  was  an  animal  and  must  be  regenerated  before 
he  can  become  a  spiritual  man  in  Christ.  That  was  new  to 
me.  Beecher  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  thinkers  the 
world  has  ever  known.  Nobody  else  would  have  thought  of 
replying  just  that  way.  If  I  had  been  there  I  would  have 
asked  Mr.  Beecher  some  questions  on  the  Letter  to  the 
Ephesians. 

The  reader  will  notice  that  every  gradation  in  process  of 
corruption  is  set  forth  with  philosophical  power  in  this  sec- 
tion. In  analyzing  it  we  see  that  he  starts  with  spiritual 
ignorance.  That  produces  vanity  of  mind,  darkness  of 
understanding,  and  alienation  from  the  life  of  God.  Then 
evil  practice  hardens  the  heart  until  we  lose  sensitiveness  to 
right  and  wrong,  become  past  feeling,  so  that  the  whole  life 
is  surrendered  to  lasciviousness,  to  work  all  uncleanness  with 
greediness. 

How  much  we  are  reminded  here  of  the  terrible  process 
set  forth  in  Romans  i :  21-32 !  There  also  the  whole  process 
is  given:  "Because  that,  knowing  God,  they  glorified  Him 


NECESSITY  OF  REGENERATION  155 

not  as  God,  neither  gave  thanks ;  but  became  vain  in  their 
imaginations,  and  their  senseless  heart  was  darkened.  Pro- 
fessing themselves  to  be  wise,  they  became  fools."  Because 
they  did  not  like  to  retain  the  knowledge  of  God,  God  g^ve 
them  up  to  reprobate  minds,  to  the  working  out  of  all  evil 
passion.  Read  the  whole  of  that  awful  indictment  against 
the  Gentile  world. 

A  great  missionary  in  the  early  days  here  in  Texas 
preached  for  me  in  Waco  on  this  theme :  "Are  the  heathen 
lost  without  the  gospel  ?"  His  answer  was,  "Yes,  lost."  He 
took  that  first  chapter  of  Romans  and  showed  how  what  is 
there  said  fits  just  as  well  to  conditions  in  heathen  lands  today 
as  then;  that  human  nature  is  always  the  same,  and  that 
through  the  fall  of  Adam  an  evil  nature  was  inherited.  That 
evil  nature  develops  into  acts.  The  wicked  man  waxes  worse 
and  worse  and  finally  becomes  crystallized,  past  feeling,  with- 
out God,  and  without  hope  in  the  world.  That  was  once  the 
condition  of  these  Ephesians.  Many  of  them  were  Greeks, 
who  prided  themselves  upon  the  greatest  intellectual  develop- 
ment in  the  world.  Highest  in  art,  science,  sculpture,  paint- 
ing, eloquence,  philosophy,  they  thought  themselves  the 
cream  of  the  earth,  but  notwithstanding  this  culture  their 
moral  corruption  was  extreme.  But  new  in  Christ,  renewed 
in  mind,  they  are  exhorted  to  put  off  the  old  man  with  his 
lusts,  his  anger,  falsehood,  idleness,  theft,  evil  speaking,  bit- 
terness, clamor,  railing,  malice,  fornication,  covetousness, 
filthiness,  foolish  talking  and  jesting,  and  drunkenness. 
These  are  overt  acts.  As  soon  as  we  are  renewed  in  Christ 
we  are  obliged  and  empowered  to  put  on  the  new  man  with 
his  truth,  industry,  generosity,  thankfulness,  spirituality, 
mercy,  love,  praise  and  prayer. 

We  see  in  the  Letter  to  the  Galatians  the  fruits  of  the  two 
trees  contrasted.  Gal.  5 :  22 :  "The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love, 
joy,  peace,  longsuffering,  kindness,  goodness,  faithfulness, 
meekness,  self-control ;  against  such  there  is  no  law."    Gal. 


150     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

5: 19;  "The  works  of  the  flesh  are  manifest,  which  are 
these :  fornication,  uncleanness,  lasciviousness,  idolatry,  sor- 
cery, enmities,  strife,  jealousies,  wraths,  factions,  divisions, 
parties,  envyings,  drunkenness,  revellings,  and  such  like." 

When  I  was  a  young  preacher  I  preached  a  sermon  on 
the  two  trees — the  tree  of  the  flesh  and  the  tree  of  the  Spirit 
— and  stated  that  some  people  spend  half  of  a  life-time 
trying  to  find  out  whether  or  not  they  are  converted.  I 
held  up  these  two  trees,  saying,  "Under  which  tree  do  you 
stand?  There  is  a  practical  way  of  knowing  that  you 
are  a  child  of  God.  Here  are  the  things  that  are  the  fruits 
of  the  flesh,  and  here  are  the  things  that  are  the  fruits  of 
the  Spirit.  You  know  the  fruit  of  your  life;  judge  from 
that.  If  a  man  sows  to  the  flesh,  he  reaps  corruption;  if 
he  sows  to  the  Spirit,  he  reaps  life  everlasting."  Our  Lord 
said,  "By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them."  The  carnal 
nature  and  spiritual  nature  are  opposites  and  antagonists. 
He  had  already  shown  the  source  of  the  different  fruits: 
"That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh,  that  which  is  born 
of  the  Spirit  is  spirit."  They  are  just  as  wide  apart  as 
possible.  There  is,  however,  one  difficulty  in  reaching  a 
correct  judgment  from  the  fruit,  towit :  Even  the  renewed 
man,  until  sanctification  is  complete,  finds  a  war  in  himself, 
as  we  learn  from  Rom.  7.  Sometimes  the  soul  is  on  top 
and  sometimes  the  fleshly  lusts.  In  such  cases  there  are 
yet  two  ways  of  ascertainment : 

1.  What  is  the  trend  of  the  life,  good  or  evil,  and  is  there 
progress  toward  the  good  ? 

2.  Which  trend  does  the  person  deliberately  encourage 
and  make  provision  for? 

"You  may  not  be  able  to  keep  a  bird  from  lighting  on 
your  head,  but  you  can  keep  him  from  building  a  nest  in 
your  hair."  "You  may  not  be  able  to  keep  the  devil  from 
knocking  at  your  door,  but  you  are  able  to  refrain  from 
asking  him  to  spend  the  night." 


NECESSITY  OF  REGENERATION         157 

In  this  careful  elaboration  of  both  good  and  evil  fruits 
there  are  several  expressions  calling  for  special  notice :  "Be 
ye  angry  and  sin  not:  let  not  the  sun  go  down  on  your 
wrath:  neither  give  place  to  the  devil."  The  first  part  of 
this  statement  shows  that  there  is  no  sin  per  se  in  indigna- 
tion against  a  wrong.  Christ  became  terribly  indignant  at 
many  evils  which  He  saw  in  His  day.  We  cannot  stand 
by  and  see  a  great,  burly  boy  browbeat  and  evil  treat  a 
weak  little  fellow  without  being  indignant,  that  is,  if  we 
are  any  good  ourselves.  If  a  man  sees  a  snake  creeping 
up  just  about  to  strike  a  child,  love  in  that  case  reaches  out 
after  a  stick  and  hits  quickly,  and  hits  to  hurt.  In  this  way 
a  man  may  be  angry  and  sin  not. 

We  come  now  to  a  nice  point  of  discrimination :  In  our 
indignation  at  what  is  wrong  there  is  a  great  hazard  of 
committing  a  sin,  so  our  text  puts  in  three  cautions.  One 
is,  "do  not  let  the  sun  go  down  on  your  wrath,"  that  is,  "do 
not  cherish  it  until  it  breaks  out  in  the  wrong  direction — • 
get  rid  of  it  before  night."  When  a  man  carries  anger  in 
his  heart  and  broods  over  it  for  a  week,  or  a  year,  or  waits, 
as  Absalom  did,  two  years  before  striking,  it  grows  into 
malice.  There  are  two  things  the  sun  ought  never  to  go 
down  on,  viz. :  Never  let  the  sun  go  down  on  your  anger — 
cool  off  before  night — and  never  let  it  go  down  on  unpaid 
wages  due  a  day  laborer.  Many  are  entirely  dependent  on 
each  day's  pay.  So  let  us  pay  our  wash-women  and  not 
forget  that  there  are  some  obligations  that  a  gentleman 
cannot  defer. 

The  next  danger  in  anger  is  this :  We  are  apt,  if  we  are 
very  hot  about  a  matter,  to  take  vengeance  into  our  own 
hands.  I  will  cite  a  passage  which  explains :  "Avenge  not 
yourselves,  beloved,  but  give  place  unto  the  wrath  of  God; 
for  it  is  written,  vengeance  belongeth  to  me ;  I  will  recom- 
pense, saith  the  Lord.  But  if  thine  enemy  hunger,  feed 
him ;  if  he  thirst,  give  him  drink ;  for  in  so  doing  thou  shalt 


158     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

heap  coals  of  fire  upon  his  head.  Be  not  overcome  of  evil, 
but  overcome  evil  with  good." 

I  knew  a  man  once  to  make  a  wrong  application  of  that. 
While  he  was  conducting  family  prayer  his  boy  kept  doing 
something  that  angered  him,  and  he  overcame  evil  with 
good  by  throwing  the  family  Bible  at  him  and  knocking 
him  down,  which  was  not  promotive  of  reverence  for  that 
service. 

No  matter  how  angry  we  get,  we  should  never  forget 
that  vengeance  is  a  divine  prerogative.  Nobody  is  qualified 
to  take  vengeance  except  God.  He  never  forgets,  and  He 
takes  everything  into  account.  Our  text  says,  "Neither  give 
place  to  the  devil."  When  a  Christian  gets  angry  there 
stands  the  devil,  whispering,  "Hit  him!"  "Kill  him!" 
"Take  vengeance  in  your  own  hands !" 

I  saw  a  man  once  walk  the  floor  for  hours,  and  finally  I 
said  to  him,  "What  is  the  matter?"  "I  am  trying,"  said  he, 
"to  get  rid  of  a  desire  to  get  on  the  train,  go  to  a  certain 
place  and  cow-hide  a  man  until  his  skin  hangs  in  strings. 
It  is  not  right  for  me  to  do  that,  but  I  am  continually 
reaching  out  my  hand  and  trying  to  take  hold  of  the  thunder- 
bolt of  the  Almighty  and  hurl  it." 

The  question  has  been  asked,  "What  bearing  has  Eph. 
4: 19,  'being  past  feeling'  on  the  unpardonable  sin?"  It  is 
the  tendency  of  turning  away  from  light  to  have  less  light ; 
turning  away  from  feeling  to  have  less  feeling.  A  young 
man  in  a  protracted  meeting  may  be  wonderfully  impressed. 
He  is  convinced  that  the  Bible  is  true,  that  Christ  is  a 
Savior  and  that  he  is  a  sinner.  He  is  stirred  up  over  the 
matter,  and  feels  impelled  to  go  and  fall  upon  his  knees 
and  say,  "God  have  mercy  on  my  soul,"  but  says,  "Not 
right  now — at  a  more  convenient  season — some  other  time." 
The  next  time  he  will  not  feel  that  impression  as  strong 
as  the  first  time.  The  third  time  he  feels  it  still  less,  and 
after  a  while  he   is  past   feeling— cannot  be  awakened. 


NECESSITY  OF  REGENERATION         159 

The  sun  shines  on  wax  and  melts  it.  The  sun  shines  on 
soft  clay  and  hardens  it.  So  light  followed  gets  brighter; 
light  neglected  dims  into  darkness.  Being  past  feeling 
may  well,  in  some  cases,  indicate  the  unpardonable  sin, 
but  not  in  all  cases.  Some  feel,  by  anticipation,  the  pangs 
of  hell.  Remorse  can  be  active  when  there  is  no 
repentance. 

The  next  particular  passage  is  verse  28:  "Let  him  that 
stole  steal  no  more :  but  rather  let  him  labor,  working  with 
his  hands  the  thing  that  is  good,  that  he  may  have  whereof 
to  give  him  that  hath  need."  The  point  that  I  want  to 
impress  is  this :  Many  people  in  the  church  think,  because 
they  have  no  real  estate,  no  bank  account,  and  are  not  rich, 
that  they  ought  not  to  help.  They  say,  "I  have  nothing." 
Here  is  the  answer :  "Go  to  work,  get  something  and  help. 
You  have  strength."  One  of  the  sweetest  offerings  ever 
laid  upon  the  altar  of  God  is  the  offering  of  the  poor  which 
is  the  result  of  the  labor  of  their  hands. 

One  day  when  I  was  taking  up  a  great  collection,  people 
calling  out  in  hundreds  all  over  the  house,  an  old  woman, 
who  had  to  be  helped  up,  came  on  her  crutches  to  the  table 
and  put  on  the  table  a  pair  of  socks  which  she  had  knit. 
I  felt  the  tears  running  down  my  face,  and  I  almost  listened 
to  hear  a  voice  from  heaven  say,  "Behold,  she  hath  done 
more  than  they  all  1"  She  felt  that  she  had  a  right  to  help, 
even  if  she  was  poor,  and  that  God  did  not  require  her  to 
give  beyond  her  ability.  She  could  labor  with  her  hands 
and  make  a  contribution. 

Next  consider  specially  5:4:  "Nor  filthiness,  nor  foolish 
talking,  nor  jesting,  which  are  not  befitting."  This  is  the 
"fly  in  the  apothecary's  ointment"  in  the  case  of  many 
preachers.  Many  a  good  meeting  has  been  ruined  by  the 
talk  in  the  preacher's  tent.  Let  a  young  man  who  has  been 
deeply  concerned  about  his  salvation  hear  that  foolish  talk- 
ing and  jesting  in  the  hour  of  the  preacher's  relaxation,  and 


160     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

it  hurts  him;  he  is  led  to  question  the  sincerity  of  the 
previous  exhortation. 

That  is  why,  in  my  young  manhood,  I  made  a  covenant 
with  Dr.  Riddle,  moderator  of  our  association,  that  we 
would  never  tell  an  obscene  anecdote  and  never  let  any- 
body tell  us  one.  He  and  I  made  that  covenant  when  camp- 
ing out  on  the  prairie  between  Waco  and  Groesbeck.  After- 
wards many  people  joined  us  in  that  covenant.  It  had  a 
marked  effect.  I  would  like  to  see  every  preacher  solemnly 
enter  into  an  agreement  with  God  to  set  a  watch  before  his 
lips,  to  avoid  foolish  jesting  and  foohsh,  obscene  stories. 

I  was  in  a  stage  travelling  from  Canyon  to  Plainview,  one 
other  Christian  besides  myself  on  the  stage,  and  two  worldly 
sinners.  One  of  them  started  to  tell  a  very  vulgar  anecdote. 
I  said,  "Stop !  I  imagine  that  is  going  to  be  tough.  Let  me 
get  out  and  walk ;  I  do  not  want  to  hear  it.  I  am  willing  to 
help  you  while  away  the  time  by  telling  anecdotes,  if  they 
be  good  ones  without  any  twang  in  them."  He  said,  "If 
you  will  let  me  tell  this  one,  I  will  not  tell  any  more."  "But 
I  do  not  want  to  hear  that  one;  I  know  it  is  bad,  and  I  do 
not  want  to  hear  it."  "Why?"  he  asked.  "Sir,"  I  said,  "I 
made  a  covenant  with  a  man  who  is  now  in  heaven  that 
I  would  never  allow  any  one  to  tell  me  a  smutty  anecdote." 
"Well,"  he  said,  "Dr.  Carroll,  I  respect  your  wishes  in  the 
matter."  I  said  to  him,  "Now  you  feel  better ;  you  have  a 
better  taste  in  your  mouth." 

The  next  passage  is  5:5:  "Nor  a  covetous  man,  who  is 
an  idolator."  Just  look  at  that  language!  We  claim  that 
idolatry  has  passed  away.  But  there  stands  that  text :  "A 
covetous  man  is  an  idolator."  He  worships  an  idol,  and 
that  idol  is  money. 

No  devotee  ever  bowed  before  Moloch,  or  any  other 
hideous  idol  in  China  or  India,  who  was  more  of  an  idolator 
than  a  covetous  man  is. 

When  I  was  a  boy  a  book  of  poetry  was  largely  read 


NECESSITY  OF  REGENERATION         161 

called  "Pollock's  Course  of  Time."  I  am  sorry  people 
stopped  reading  it.  It  describes  a  miser  in  hell  with  the 
devil  pouring  melted  gold  down  his  throat. 

The  miser  is  the  meanest,  ghastliest,  grizzliest  of  all  gross 
men! 

Milton  does  the  same  thing  in  "Paradise  Lost"  when  he 
comes  to  describe  Mammon.  He  makes  other  demons  some- 
what respectable,  but  when  he  comes  to  Mammon,  there  is 
nothing  in  him  to  admire. 

We  now  notice  5 : 7.  Here  arises  the  question,  "What 
are  you  going  to  do  with  this  evil  tide  all  around  you?" 
(i)  "Be  ye  not  partakers  with  them."  We  cannot  help 
what  they  do,  but  we  should  not  be  partakers.  (2)  We 
should  have  no  fellowship  with  their  unfruitful  works.  (3) 
We  should  reprove  them.  I  do  not  say  that  we  ought  to  go 
out  on  the  streets  and  denounce  them.  Our  lives  will  reprove 
them  if  we  show  by  the  way  we  live  that  we  do  not  touch 
those  things.  We  cannot  walk  down  the  street  without 
condemning  them. 

Again,  the  14th  verse:  "Wherefore  he  sayeth,  Awake, 
thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ  shall 
shine  upon  thee."  That  is  a  great  text.  Who  can  locate 
that  text  in  the  Bible  ?  On  that  passage  one  of  the  greatest 
sermons  I  ever  read  is  by  Dr.  Addison  Alexander,  a  Pres* 
byterian.    I  give  the  divisions  of  his  sermon : 

1.  Sin  is  a  state  of  darkness — "Christ  shall  give  thee  Hght." 

2.  A  state  of  sleep — "Awake,  thou  that  sleepest." 

3.  A  state  of  death — "Arise  from  the  dead." 

Let  us  look  at  5:  18:  "Be  not  drunken  with  the  wine, 
wherein  is  riot,  but  be  filled  with  the  Spirit."  There  are 
two  kinds  of  intoxication,  one  of  wine  and  one  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  I  have  seen  people  under  the  intoxication  of  the 
Spirit.  I  remember  one  lady — one  of  the  sweetest  ladies 
I  ever  knew.  I  was  not  a  Christian,  but  it  did  me  good  to 
watch  her  in  a  meeting.     When  the  power  of  the  Spirit 


162     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

would  begin  to  fill  her  heart,  she  would  begin  to  show  her 
intoxication.  Her  face  would  become  luminous,  her  lips 
would  quiver  and  she  would  commence  to  sing :  "Oh  Love 
Divine,  how  sweet  thou  art!"  It  was  like  the  rustling  of 
the  wings  of  an  angel. 

A  preacher  oftentimes  needs  a  stimulant.  The  trouble  is 
that  some  of  them  take  the  wrong  kind.  One  thing  I  know : 
Nobody  respects  a  preacher  who,  before  he  enters  the  pulpit, 
takes  a  little  toddy  or  opium  to  enable  him  to  take  hold  of 
things  lively  while  in  the  pulpit.  One  of  the  most  brilliant 
preachers  in  the  South  made  a  shipwreck  of  himself  that 
way.  I  was  called  on  to  preach  for  him  in  his  church,  and 
when  he  got  up  to  make  his  introductory  remarks  he  was 
braced  up  right  sharply  with  whiskey,  and  said  some  very 
foolish  things.  He  could  get  a  church  anywhere  at  first, 
but  at  last  he  could  get  a  church  nowhere.  Whenever  we 
want  to  be  stimulated,  we  should  go  off  and  pray.  As  we  are 
infilled  with  the  Spirit,  we  become  enthusiastic;  a  divine 
afflatus  rests  upon  us,  enabling  us  to  think  thoughts  that 
breathe,  to  speak  words  that  burn  and  to  sing  songs  that 
have  more  convincing  power  than  the  sermon.  That  is 
spiritual  intoxication. 

It  is  often  a  practical  question :  "What  shall  we  do  with 
exuberant  feelings?"  How  may  we  find  a  safe  vent  for 
our  enthusiasms,  ecstasies,  exultations  ?  Edward  Eggleston 
tells  of  a  crowd  of  intoxicated  boys  raising  this  very  ques- 
tion. One  of  them  said,  "Let's  do  something  lu-dick-er-ous/' 
When  asked  what  he  would  call  a  "ludickerous"  thing  he 
replied,  "Let's  go  and  rock  the  Dutchman's  house."  There 
was  one  inoffensive  German  in  the  neighborhood,  and  their 
rocking  his  house  led  to  some  costly  and  disastrous  results. 
But  verse  19  suggests  a  better  and  safer  vent:  "Speaking 
one  to  another  in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs, 
singing  and  making  melody  with  your  heart  to  the  Lord." 
I  have  known  churches  intoxicated  with  the  Spirit  to  do 


NECESSITY  OF  REGENERATION         163 

that  very  thing,  the  members  going  from  house  to  house 
holding  glorious  song-services  that  did  much  to  deepen  and 
widen  the  religious  awakening. 

From  this  general  discussion  of  "the  old"  and  "the  new 
man"  expressed  in  life's  work,  he  turns  to  the  application 
in  life's  relation,  viz. :  husband  and  wife,  parent  and  child, 
master  and  servant,  pointing  out  clearly  as  he  does  in  other 
letters  the  reciprocal  obligations,  but  as  these  relations  have 
been  discussed  in  the  Letter  to  the  Colossians,  we  pass  them 
here. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  What  philosophy  of  a  good  or  evil  life  does  this  section  give? 

2.  What  the  bearing  of  the  philosophy  on  the  necessity  of 
regeneration  in  order  to  a  good  life? 

3.  Cite  the  case  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher's  examination  by  a 
council  of  his  people. 

4.  Are  the  heathen  lost  without  the  gospel  ? 

5.  What  our  Lord's  standard  for  our  judgment  of  men's  pro- 
fessions ? 

6.  What  the  difficulty  in  applying  this  test,  and  how  obviated  ? 

7.  Expound  :   "Be  ye  angry  and  sin  not." 

8.  What  the  first  hazard  in  being  angry,  and  how  guarded? 

9.  What  the  second,  and  how  obviated  ? 

10.  What  the  third,  and  how  obviated? 

11.  What  the  bearing  of  "past  feeling"  on  the  unpardonable  sin? 

12.  Show  how  the  poor  should  help  in  Qirist's  work. 

13.  What  danger  attends  the  preacher's  hours  of  relaxation,  and 
what  examples  cited? 

14.  Prove  that  we  have  idolators  among  us. 

15.  What  two  poets  describe  the  miser  ? 

16.  Where  do  you  find  the  quotation :  "Awake,  thou  that  sleepest, 
etc.,"  who  preached  a  great  sermon  on  the  text,  and  what  his  outline? 

17.  What  two  intoxications  are  contrasted? 

18.  What  prescription  in  this  section  for  finding  a  safe  vent  to 
religious  exuberance,  and  what  Edward  Eggleston's  account  of  a 
different  vent  for  worldly  exuberance  ? 


XV 

THE   CHURCH   IN   GLORY 
Scriptures:  Eph.  5 :  22-33  and  6: 10-24 

THIS  chapter  closes  the  exposition  of  the  Letter  to 
the  Ephesians,  elaborating  the  12th  and  13th  items 
of  our  analysis,  towit : 

Christ  and  the  bride,  or  the  church  in  glory. 

The  Christian's  enemies,  warfare  and  armor. 

First,  we  will  expound  the  relation  between  Christ  and 
His  church,  so  far  as  set  forth  under  the  figure  of  husband 
and  wife.  We  need  to  recall  so  much  of  the  first  part  of 
our  definition  of  the  word,  "church,"  in  New  Testament 
usage  as  applied  to  our  subject:  "In  the  divine  purpose 
from  eternity  and  in  its  consummation  in  glory,  the  whole 
number  of  the  redeemed  are  conceived  of  as  a  unit,  set 
forth  in  the  scripture  under  the  figure  of  the  bride,  or  wife, 
of  the  Lamb."  This  divine  conception  was  foreshadowed 
in  Eve,  the  first  woman,  derived  from  Adam,  the  first  man, 
so  as  by  derivation  to  be  bone  of  his  bone  and  flesh  of  his 
flesh.  As  Adam  was  the  head,  or  lord,  over  Eve,  so  is 
Christ  head,  or  Lord,  of  the  church.  As  Eve  was  derived 
from  Adam,  being  made  a  part  of  himself,  extracted  from  his 
side  in  a  deep  sleep,  so  the  church  is  derived  from  the  body 
of  Christ  in  the  sleep  of  vicarious  death  on  the  cross.  As 
Eve,  when  fashioned  gloriously,  was  presented  to  Adam  and 
united  to  him  in  marriage,  to  be  his  companion,  so  the 
church,  when  complete  as  to  its  number,  and  complete  as  to 
the  glorification  of  each  member,  will  be  presented  to  Christ 
and  married  to  Him,  to  be  His  companion  forever.    Under 

164 


THE  CHURCH  IN  GLORY  166 

this  imagery  the  church  is  the  mystical  bride  of  the  Lamb. 

The  reader  will  readily  see  that  the  church  in  this  mys- 
tical sense  has  no  real  existence  now  except  in  the  con- 
tinuous preparation  of  its  members.  It  is  not  yet  a  church 
except  in  purpose,  plan  and  prospect.  It  is  called  a  church 
by  anticipation.  Some  of  its  members  are  already  prepared 
in  both  soul  and  body,  for  example,  Enoch  and  Elijah,  and 
perhaps  those  who  rose  after  Christ's  resurrection  (Matt. 
27:53).  Some  are  prepared  in  spirit,  and  constitute  the 
"spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect,"  whose  bodies  yet  sleep. 
Some  on  earth  yet  are  prepared  so  far  as  regeneration, 
justification  and  adoption  go,  but  are  not  yet  sanctified  in 
spirit  or  glorified  in  body.  By  far  the  greater  number  are 
not  yet  even  born.  To  be  a  church  they  must  be  assembled 
and  organized.  What  is  called  the  "presentation  and  mar- 
riage" is  a  definite  transaction  yet  for  the  future. 

We  hear  much  of  the  "universal  church."  The  word, 
*'katholikos"  (universal),  is  not  found  in  the  Greek  Bible 
in  either  the  Old  or  the  New  Testament.  When  those  so 
fond  of  this  phrase  as  expressive  of  a  now  existing  church 
are  called  on  to  define  it,  they  go  to  pieces.  Some  of  them 
say  it  means  all  existing  denominations,  which  are  branches 
of  the  church.  Others  say  that  it  means  all  the  particular 
churches  collectively.  Yet  others,  that  it  means  all  living 
Christians,  whether  or  not  they  are  members  of  the  church. 
And  so  they  go.  In  all  probability,  i.e.,  judging  from  the 
prophecies  of  the  uncountable  number  that  will  ultimately 
be  saved,  not  one  thousandth  part  of  the  elect  are  yet  in 
existence.  How  can  a  thousandth  part  of  the  whole  be 
universal  ? 

It  has  no  actual  existence  beyond  the  preparation  of  mate- 
rial for  it,  constantly  going  on.  One  may  say,  "I  believe 
in  the  Catholic  (universal)  church,"  just  as  he  may  say,  "I 
believe  in  the  judgment  to  come,"  "I  believe  in  the  second 
advent,"  "I  believe  in  the  regeneration  of  the  earth." 


166     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

The  whole  of  the  modern  Baptist  idea  of  a  now  existent 
"universal,  invisible  church''  was  borrowed  from  Pedo- 
baptist  confessions  of  faith  in  the  Reformation  times,  and 
the  Pedo-baptists  devised  it  to  offset  the  equally  erroneous 
idea  of  the  Romanist  ''universal  visible  church"  We  need 
to  be  well  indoctrinated  on  this  point,  because  the  error  is 
not  harmless.  It  is  used  to  depreciate  Christ's  earth-church, 
"the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth." 

Let  us  carefully  analyze  the  paragraph  before  us : 

1.  "Christ  loved  the  church,"  that  is,  He  loved  the  people 
v^ho  were  to  be  given  to  Him — all  of  them.  In  eternity  a 
joy  was  set  before  Him — a  future  reward. 

2.  "He  gave  himself  for  it,"  that  is,  He  died  for  His 
promised  people.  They  in  prospect  constituted  the  travail 
of  His  soul.  It  was  promised  that  He  should  see  the 
travail  of  His  soul  and  be  satisfied. 

3.  He  will  cleanse  it  in  order  to  its  holiness.  Our  text 
reads,  "that  He  might  sanctify  it,  having  cleansed  it." 

4.  This  cleansing  is  to  be  by  "the  washing  of  water  with 
the  Word,"  that  is,  a  method  of  cleansing  was  established. 
In  the  Old  Testament-time  this  cleansing  was  by  the  water 
of  purification,  which  was  the  sprinkling  on  the  unclean  the 
ashes  of  the  red  heifer  mingled  with  water.    The  sprinkling 
was  done  with  a  bunch  of  hyssop.    (See  Num.  10,  Ps.  51 :  7, 
Ezek.  36:25.)     This  typical  water  of  purification  finds  its 
antitype  in  the  blood  of  Christ  (Heb.  9: 13,  14).     So  that 
the  washing  of  water  in  our  text  means  simply  the  appli- 
cation of  the  blood  of  Christ  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  regenera- 
tion.    Hence  it  is  called  "the  washing  of  regeneration," 
Tit.  3:5.    In  regeneration  there  are  always  two  elements : 
(i)  Cleansing  by  the  application  of  Christ's  blood;  (2)  Re- 
newing or  changing  the  heart,  or  nature  (Ezek.  36:  25,  26; 
Tit.  3:5).     Christ  gave  himself  for  His  people  that  He 
might  cleanse  them  by  washing  them  in  His  blood   (see 
revised  text  of  Rev.  7: 14;  22: 14).    This  cleansing  is  also. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  GLORY  167 

of  course,  "by  the  Word."  It  is  the  gospel  preached  that 
leads  to  regeneration  (see  John  1:9,  13,  15;  James  i :  18; 
I  Peter  i :  23 ;  I  Cor.  4:15).  The  Word  of  God  is  not  only 
an  instrumentality  of  the  cleansing-part  of  regeneration, 
but  also  of  the  continued  sanctification.  It  includes  all  ex- 
pressed in  the  prayer  for  the  Thessalonians  (I  Thess.  5  :  23), 
"body,  soul,  and  spirit"  and  "wholly."  It  includes  the  glori- 
fication of  the  body.  So  that  when  complete  it  is  a  glorious 
church,  not  having  spot  nor  wrinkle  nor  any  such  thing, 
but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without  blemish.  The  church 
will  then  be  complete  in  the  presence  of  all  its  members,  and 
complete  in  the  full  salvation  of  every  member. 

5.  He  makes  it  holy.  Our  text  says,  "That  He  might 
sanctify  it,  having  cleansed  it."  Cleansing  or  regeneration 
first,  then  holiness.  "Sanctify"  here  may  not  mean  to  set 
apart,  to  consecrate.  The  glorified  church  is  set  apart  to  its 
eternal  mission,  but  more  naturally  "to  make  holy,"  as  is 
implied  by  the  next  thought. 

6.  "That  He  might  present  it  to  himself  a  glorious  church, 
not  having  spot  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing,  but  that  it 
should  be  holy  and  without  blemish."  This  means  complete 
holiness  as  God  is  holy.  This  presentation  is  the  offering 
of  the  Bride  to  the  Groom  at  the  marriage  altar.  She  is 
adorned  as  a  bride  for  her  husband.  Psalm  45,  which  is 
intensely  Messianic,  anticipates  this  presentation  thus : 

"Hearken,  O  daughter,  and  consider,  and  incline  thine  ear ; 
Forgot  also  thine  own  people,  and  thy  father's  house : 
So  will  the  king  desire  thy  beauty ; 
For  he  is  thy  Lord ;  and  reverence  thou  him. 

♦  ♦**** 

The  king's  daughter  within  the  palace  is  all  glorious : 
Her  clothing  is  inwrought  with  gold. 
She  shall  be  led  unto  the  king  in  broidered  work." 

7.  Then  follows  the  marriage.  Let  inspiration  describe  it : 
"And  I  heard  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  great  multitude,  and 
as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  mighty 


168     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

thunders,  saying,  Hallelujah:  for  the  Lord  our  God,  the 
Almighty,  reigneth.  Let  us  rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad, 
and  let  us  give  the  glory  unto  Him :  for  the  marriage  of  the 
Lamb  is  come,  and  His  wife  hath  made  herself  ready.  And 
it  was  given  unto  her  that  she  should  array  herself  in  fine 
linen,  bright  and  pure:  for  the  fine  linen  is  the  righteous 
acts  of  the  saints.  And  He  saith  unto  me,  Write,  Blessed 
are  they  that  are  bidden  to  the  marriage  supper  of  the 
Lamb,"  Rev.  19 :  6-9. 

The  event  here  described  is  the  crowning  glory  of  the 
future.  It  follows  the  advent  of  our  Lord.  He  will  come 
in  glory.  He  will  bring  with  Him  the  spirits  of  the  just 
made  perfect.  He  will  raise  and  glorify  their  bodies.  He 
will  transfigure  the  living  saints.  He  will  catch  up  all  the 
redeemed  to  himself  in  the  air  and  thus  separate  between 
the  sheep  and  the  goats.  He  thus  assumes  His  mystical 
body,  the  church,  as  at  His  first  advent  He  assumed  the 
body  of  His  humiliation,  and  as  in  His  second  advent  He 
assumed  the  resurrection  body  of  His  glory. 

How  vivid  the  picture  in  Matt.  25:5-12:  "Now  while 
the  bridegroom  tarried,  the  virgins  all  slumbered  and  slept. 
But  at  midnight  there  was  a  cry.  Behold  the  Bridegroom! 
Come  ye  forth  to  meet  Him.  *  *  *  And  they  that  were 
ready  went  in  with  Him  to  the  marriage  feast,  and  the  door 
was  shut.  Afterwards  came  also  the  other  virgins,  saying, 
Lord,  Lord,  open  to  us !  But  He  answered  them  and  said, 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  know  you  not." 

On  this  great  day  is  fulfilled  the  scripture :  "He  shall  see 
of  the  travail  of  His  soul  and  shall  be  satisfied."  Now  to 
the  universe  appears  "the  riches  of  His  inheritance  in  the 
saints."  "When  He  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  His  saints, 
and  to  be  marveled  at  in  all  them  that  believed." 

We  thus  see  in  these  prison  letters  of  Paul  the  several 
meanings  of  the  word,  "church,"  all  illustrated : 

As  an  institution,  it  is  one  new  man  made  out  of  the  Jew 


THE  CHURCH  IN  GLORY  169 

and  Gentile;  it  is  one  commonwealth  in  which  both  alike 
are  citizens.  It  is  one  temple.  It  is  one  body.  It  is  one 
bride.  As  an  institution  it  is  appointed  to  instruct  angels, 
and  to  be  the  depository  of  the  divine  glory  unto  all 
generations. 

As  a  particular  church,  in  which  alone  this  institution 
finds  expression,  "each  several  building  fitly  framed  together 
groweth  into  a  holy  temple  of  the  Lord  for  a  habitation  of 
God  in  the  Spirit."  Each  particular  church  is  a  body  "fitly 
framed  and  knit  together  through  that  which  every  joint 
supplieth,  according  to  the  working  in  due  measure  of  each 
several  part." 

'  As  a  glory  church  it  includes  all  the  redeemed,  and  each 
one  of  the  redeemed  saved  fully,  in  body,  soul,  and  spirit. 

The  use  of  the  word,  "church,"  in  a  sense  too  broad 
for  application  to  a  particular  church  must  be  found 
in  this  letter,  if  anywhere.  In  view  of  this  fact,  it  is 
fortunate  that  we  have  such  historical  passages  touching 
the  Ephesian  church  as  appear  in  Acts  20:17-38  and  I 
Tim.  3 :  14.  In  both  these  passages  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  address  concerns  the  particular  church  at 
Ephesus,  and  yet  these  broad  terms  are  used :  "Take  heed 
to  all  the  flock  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  hath  made  you 
bishops  to  feed  the  church  of  the  Lord  which  He  purchased 
with  His  own  blood."  "These  things  write  I  unto  thee 
*  *  *  that  thou  mayest  know  how  men  ought  to  behave 
themselves  in  the  house  of  God,  which  is  the  church  of  the 
living  God,  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth."  There  is 
no  term  so  broad,  whether  house,  temple,  body,  flock,  bride, 
but  may  be  applied  to  a  particular  church,  because  each 
particular  church  in  itself  alone  foreshadows  the  church  in 
glory. 

The  several  steps  which  lead  up  to  the  assembling,  organi- 
zation, visibility,  and  locality  of  the  universal  church — the 
steps  which  lead  to  its  constitution — are  as  clearly  set  forth 


IW     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

in  the  scriptures  as  the  steps  looking  to  the  constitution  of 
any  particular  earth-church.    These  steps  are  as  follows : 

1.  Jesus  will  come,  bringing  with  Him  the  souls  in 
heaven,  I  Thess.  4: 13,  14. 

2.  He  raises  and  glorifies  their  bodies,  I  Thess.  4: 16. 

3.  He  glorifies  without  death  the  Christians  then  living, 
I  Cor.  15:51-55. 

4.  Both  classes  are  caught  up  in  the  clouds  with  the  Lord, 
I  Thess.  4:  17.  This  is  the  separation  of  the  righteous  from 
the  wicked.  Matt.  13 :  24-30 ;  24 :  27-31 ;  25  :  10,  31,  32.  They 
are  now  for  the  first  time  an  assembly — an  organization — 
and  they  can  discern  between  the  righteous  and  the  wicked, 
Mai.  3 :  17,  19. 

5.  At  this  time  the  world  is  purified  by  fire,  Mai.  4:1-3; 
n  Pet.  3:4-12;  Rom.  8 :  19-23. 

6.  Presentation  and  marriage  of  the  bride,  Eph.  5 :  27 ; 
Psa.  45 :  10-15 ;  Rev.  19 : 6-9. 

7.  The  church  then  sits  on  the  throne  and  with  Christ 
judges  the  evil  men  and  angels.  Rev.  3 :  21 ;  I  Cor.  6:2,  3 ; 
Matt.  19:28.  This  judgment  is  final.  Matt.  25:41-46; 
Rev.  20: 11-15. 

8.  There  is  now  a  redeemed  earth,  purified  by  fire,  H 
Pet.  3:13;  Rev.  21 : 1,  and  the  glorified  church  rules  therein. 
Rev.  21 : 2-27 ;  so  that  lost  Paradise  with  its  tree  of  life  is 
regained.  Rev.  22: 1-15,  and  at  last  "the  meek  inherit  the 
earth,"  Matt.  5 :  5. 

9.  The  wicked,  both  men  and  angels,  having  bowed  the 
knee  and  confessed  Christ's  sovereignty  (Phil.  2:  10),  are 
isolated  forever  in  their  final  prison,  Rev.  20:  14,  15;  Matt. 
25:41,  46,  and  so  the  pacification  is  complete  and  then 
cometh  the  end,  I  Cor.  1 5  :  24-28. 

The  entrance  qualifications  for  the  church  in  glory  may 
be  summed  up  in  one  sentence:  The  complete  and  eternal 
salvation  of  the  entire  man — ^body,  soul,  and  spirit.  That 
derivation  of  the  woman  from  the  man,  and  God's  uniting 


THE  CHURCH  IN  GLORY  171 

them  in  marriage,  while  an  historical  fact,  foreshadowed  a 
greater  mystery — the  derivation  of  the  church  from  the 
Lord,  and  their  final  marriage  in  heaven. 

The  latter  part  of  this  book  commences  with  chapter  6 : 6 
and  goes  to  the  end  of  the  chapter.  This  paragraph  presents 
to  us  the  Christian's  warfare,  the  Christian's  enemies,  and 
the  Christian's  armor.  We  make  a  very  great  mistake  if  we 
think  that  in  the  happy  hour  of  our  conversion  all  trouble, 
battle  and  strife  is  over.  It  has  just  commenced.  That  is 
the  day  we  enlisted.  The  whole  war  is  ahead  of  us — not 
a  war  for  our  salvation,  but  a  war  in  Christian  service.  The 
writer  brings  out  very  clearly  the  nature  of  the  enemies 
with  which  the  Christian  has  to  contend.  He  expressly 
says  that  they  are  not  human  enemies — not  flesh  and  blood. 
He  must  not  be  understood  as  denying  that  "the  flesh"  is 
an  enemy,  for  that  enmity  has  been  clearly  expressed  in 
Rom.  7,  but  "flesh  and  blood"  as  here  used  mean  simply 
human  enemies  who  are  unimportant  when  compared  with 
the  superhuman  enemies  of  whom  he  speaks.  He  refers  to 
these  greater  enemies  and  specifies  thus:  "Our  wrestling 
is  not  against  flesh  and  blood  (human  enemies),  but  against 
principalities,  against  powers,  against  the  world  rulers  of 
this  darkness,  against  the  spiritual  hosts  of  wickedness  in 
heavenly  places."  These  are  the  enemies  in  his  mind. 
He  tells  us  who  is  the  leader  of  these  enemies :  "That  we 
may  be  able  to  stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  devil." 

It  is  the  teaching  of  the  scriptures  that  Satan,  a  distinct 
angelic  person,  sinned  in  heaven  and  led  away  with  him  a 
great  number  of  angels.  My  own  judgment  of  the  occasion 
of  that  sin  is  that  he  revolted  against  being  put  lower  than 
man.  God  having  announced  that  the  new  creature,  which 
at  first  was  made  for  a  little  season  lower  than  the  angels, 
would  ultimately  be  put  above  the  angels  and  that  the  angels 
should  be  ministering  spirits  unto  them.  That  caused  the 
revolt  of  Satan  in  heaven.    That  was  the  cause  of  his  down- 


172     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

fall,  and  it  also  accounts  for  his  enmity  to  the  human  race. 

Having  been  expelled  from  heaven  because  he  refused  to 
submit  to  this  divine  enactment,  he  determined  to  wage  a 
perpetual  warfare  against  man  to  thwart  the  purpose  of  God 
that  man  should  be  put  above  the  angels.  That  accounts 
for  the  introduction  of  sin  on  earth,  in  the  Garden  of  Eden. 
He  determined  to  bring  about  the  downfall  of  the  human 
race.  H  he  could  make  them  enemies  to  God,  and  God  an 
enemy  to  them,  they  would  become  his  subjects,  and  he 
would  still  be  over  them. 

He  certainly  did  win  his  fight  in  the  Garden  of  Eden. 
He  captured  the  whole  world  in  capturing  the  head  of  the 
human  race,  and  from  that  time  on  the  whole  human  race 
has  been  in  bondage  to  Satan.  He  and  his  evil  spirits  are 
the  world-rulers.  He  dictates  its  maxims  of  pleasure  and 
business.  Of  course,  when  grace  comes  in  to  destroy  the 
work  of  the  devil  and  to  rescue  the  human  race  from  his 
dominion,  and  people  were  converted  into  the  power  of  this 
grace,  the  devil  did  not  give  up  the  fight.  H  he  cannot 
destroy  Christians  who  have  escaped  from  him,  he  at  least 
can  worry  them,  and  he  will  wage  a  warfare  against  Chris- 
tian people  who,  as  he  calls  them,  are  rebels  against  him. 
They  were  in  his  kingdom,  and  are  now  trying  to  pull  down 
his  strongholds,  lessen  his  empire,  and  spread  revolt  in  his 
kingdom. 

It  is  to  the  reality  and  intensity  of  this  struggle  that  the 
apostle  calls  attention  here.  He  is  very  careful  to  teach 
that  Christians  unaided  are  unable  to  cope  with  such  adver- 
saries— that  if  they  go  into  this  fight,  they  need  to  go  into 
it  protected  in  every  possible  way  defensively,  and  equipped 
with  effective  offensive  weapons. 

In  a  most  beautiful  allegory  Bunyan  brings  out  the  whole 
thought.  As  soon  as  Christian  gets  rid  of  the  burden  of 
sin  at  the  cross,  he  is  led  to  the  Interpreter's  house  (the  house 
of  the  Holy  Spirit),  where  many  things  are  explained  to 


THE  CHURCH  IN  GLORY  173 

him,  and  before  he  starts  off  on  his  pilgrimage  to  heaven 
he  is  led  into  the  armory,  where  he  puts  on  the  armor  which 
God  has  provided  for  His  people.  Long  before  a  child  can 
appreciate  the  spiritual  significance  of  the  book,  he  is  de- 
lighted and  carried  away  with  its  imagery  of  warfare. 
Christian  soon,  in  going  down  the  hill  Difficulty,  commits 
a  sin  and  meets  Apollyon,  who  straddles  his  pathway.  There 
ensues  a  terrible  conflict.  The  book  in  its  allegorical  form 
describes  the  victory  which  Christian  won  over  Apollyon. 

Our  text  says  that  in  view  of  these  enemies,  in  view  of 
the  wiles  of  the  devil  and  his  demons,  on  account  of  their 
cunning,  on  account  of  their  malice,  on  account  of  the  hold 
that  they  have  on  the  Christian  through  the  remains  of  his 
carnal  nature  yet  with  him,  for  he  is  not  yet  sanctified,  and 
in  going  out  to  this  battle  he  needs  an  armor,  or  panoply. 
The  idea  is  doubtless  suggested  to  Paul  by  the  fact  that 
even  as  he  wrote  he  was  chained  to  the  soldier  of  the  Praeto- 
rian guard,  the  most  formidable  of  Roman  soldiers.  The 
soldier  has  on  a  helmet,  breast-plate,  a  military  girdle,  war- 
sandals,  and  has  a  sharp  two-edged  sword,  certainly  the 
most  formidable  weapon  ever  devised  for  warfare,  and  a 
long  shield  with  which,  when  he  goes  out  into  battle,  he 
protects  himself.  So  Paul  takes  this  imagery  to  show  how 
the  Christian  must  guard  against  the  wiles  of  the  devil — 
that  the  Christian  must  be  panoplied. 

As  has  been  said,  Paul  illustrates  by  the  armor  of  a  Roman 
soldier,  so  familiar  to  him  from  being  chained  to  one  of  the 
Praetorian  guard  every  day.  The  pieces  of  armor  specified 
are  all  defensive,  except  the  sword  and  prayer,  which  are 
offensive  weapons.  The  office  of  the  girdle  was  to  gather 
up  and  hold  together  both  the  loose  dress  and  parts  of  the 
armor.  In  the  place  of  this  girdle  he  offers  truth,  that  is, 
the  truth  of  the  gospel.  In  the  place  of  the  breast-plate, 
whose  office  is  to  protect  the  heart,  he  offers  righteousness. 
Of  course  this  raises  the  question,  Whose  righteousness — 


174     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

Christ's  as  imputed,  or  the  Christian's  own  right  doing? 
Something  may  be  said  for  the  second,  but  more  for  the 
first.  It  is  true  that  right  doing  is  a  conscious  defense 
against  false  charges.  But  the  devil  is  not  apt  to  confine 
himself  to  false  charges.  He  will  hurl  the  fiery  dart  of 
true  charge  against  some  weakness,  infirmity  and  sin  of  the 
Christian.  The  imputed  righteousness  of  Christ  is  imper- 
vious to  any  missile  whatever. 

The  office  of  the  spiked  sandal  was  to  insure  safe  footing 
on  slippery  or  treacherous  ground.  For  this  he  offers  the 
preparation  of  the  gospel  of  peace.  Being  justified  by 
faith,  we  have  peace  with  God,  and  if  God  be  for  us  who 
can  be  against  us?  Peace  in  the  heart,  the  peace  of  God 
which  passeth  all  understanding,  will  aid  to  step  surely  and 
stand  firmly. 

The  office  of  the  helmet  is  to  protect  the  head,  another 
vital  part,  and  for  this  Paul  offers  salvation.  He  means  sal- 
vation so  far  as  justification  goes,  and  all  it  pledges.  The 
thought  is :  "He  that  believeth  hath  everlasting  life,  and  shall 
not  come  into  condemnation."  H  God  justifies,  who  can 
condemn?  Who  can  lay  any  charge  to  God's  elect?  This 
thought  nourished  in  the  heart  protects  from  any  fiery  dart 
of  doubt  Satan  may  hurl  at  the  mind. 

The  office  of  the  shield  is  more  general.  It  is  carried 
on  the  left  arm  and  covers  the  whole  vital  part  of  the  body. 
In  the  place  of  this,  Paul  offers  faith.  But  the  question 
arises :  Is  faith  itself  a  shield,  or  is  it  the  hand  that  inter- 
poses the  true  shield?  In  Genesis  15,  where,  in  giving  an 
account  of  Abraham's  conversion,  so  many  new  words 
appear  for  the  first  time  in  the  Bible,  among  them,  "shield," 
"believe,"  "imputed  righteousness,"  God  says,  "I  am  thy 
shield."  God,  then,  is  the  shield  of  faith — the  shield  that 
faith  lays  hold  of  and  interproses  between  the  soul  and 
danger.  We  are  not  equal  to  Satan.  God  is  greater  than 
Satan.    When  we  see  Satan  coming  faith  puts  God,  the 


THE  CHURCH  IN  GLORY  176 

shield,  between  our  weakness  and  Satan;  we  hide  behind 
God.  One  of  ^sop's  fables  says,  "A  kid  standing  on  the 
roof  of  a  house  railed  at  a  wolf  passing  by,  to  whom  the 
wolf  replied :  Not  you,  but  the  roof  raileth  at  me."  This 
fable  teaches  that  time  and  place  often  make  the  timid  brave. 
A  timid  little  fellow  gets  behind  a  big  brother  and  valorously 
shakes  his  fist  at  an  opponent  from  whom  he  had  just  fled. 

One  of  the  great  magazines  illustrated  that  point.  An- 
drew Johnson  wanted  to  get  rid  of  Secretary  Stanton. 
Stanton  refused  to  resign  or  to  be  removed,  and  defied 
Johnson,  whereupon  Johnson  appointed  U.  S.  Grant  war 
secretary.  Him  Stanton  dared  not  defy.  The  magazine, 
in  a  telling  illustration,  pictures  the  irate  and  terrible  Stan- 
ton charging  on  the  little  president,  but  just  before  he  gets 
to  him,  Johnson  reaches  back  and  pulls  Grant  in  front  of 
him.  Under  the  picture  it  reads :  "Let  me  see  you  hit  him !" 
So  faith  puts  God,  its  shield,  between  us  and  the  devil. 

The  office  of  the  sword  is  offensive.  With  it  an  enemy  is 
thrust  or  smitten.  Paul  commends  as  the  Christian's  sword 
the  Word  of  God.  This  is  called  the  sword  of  the  Spirit, 
not  merely  because  the  Spirit  inspired  it,  but  also  because 
the  Spirit  gives  it  point  and  edge  when  rightly  used.  Just 
here  we  need  to  connect  Heb.  4: 12:  "For  the  Word  of 
God  is  living,  and  active,  and  sharper  than  any  two-edged 
sword,  and  piercing  even  to  the  dividing  of  the  soul  and 
spirit,  of  both  joints  and  marrow,  and  quick  to  discern  the 
thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart."  With  this  compare 
Isa.  49 : 2  and  Hosea  6 :  5.  The  most  striking  example  for 
us  in  the  right  use  of  this  sword  against  Satan  is  our  Lord's 
use  of  "It  is  written"  in  replying  to  Satan's  temptation. 
Another  one  is  the  case  of  Michael  mentioned  in  Jude  6. 

The  second  offensive  weapon  of  the  Christian  is  prayer: 
"With  all  prayer  and  supplication,  praying  at  all  seasons  in 
the  Spirit,  and  watching  thereunto  in  all  perseverance  and 
supplication  for  all  the  saints." 


176     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

This  praying  covers  a  wide  field:  (i)  All  prayer  and 
supplication.  (2)  At  all  seasons.  (3)  In  the  Spirit.  (4) 
Watching  thereunto.  (5)  In  all  perseverance.  (6)  For  all 
the  saints. 

Helmet,  breastplate,  girdle,  sandals  and  shield  are  de- 
fensive— they  protect  us.  The  word  of  God,  and  prayer, 
are  offensive  weapons ;  with  them  we  smite  Satan. 

"Satan  trembles  when  he  sees 
The  weakest  saint  upon  his  knees." 

Cromwell's  Ironsides,  about  to  join  battle,  first  prayed, 
then,  singing  a  battle  song,  they  smote  with  the  sword. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Give  so  much  of  the  definition  of  the  word,  "church,"  as 
relates  to  Christ  as  bridegroom  and  the  church  as  bride. 

2.  In  what  sense  only  does  this  glory  church  now  exist? 

3.  Why  must  we  call  it  a  church  in  prospect,  and  not  an 
actuality  ? 

4.  What  is  the  Greek  word  for  "universal,"  and  how  often  is  it 
used  in  Greek  Old  Testament  and  New  Testament? 

5.  Where  do  all  break  down  who  claim  that  there  is  now  a 
universal  church?    Cite  examples. 

6.  Who  invented  the  phrase,  "A  universal,  spiritual,  invisible 
church,"  and  why,  and  how  did  Baptists  obtain  it? 

7.  In  analyzing  the  phrase,  point  out  what  Christ  did  or  will  do? 

8.  Expound  the  cleansing,  showing  Old  Testament  type  and  New 
Testament  type,  giving  scriptures. 

9.  What  the  instrumentality  employed,  and  what  the  scriptures? 

10.  When  this  marriage  between  Christ  and  the  church,  and  what 
scriptures  ? 

11.  As  this  letter,  more  than  any  other,  gives  the  usage  of  the 
word,  "church,"  in  broad  senses,  show  from  Acts  and  Timothy  the 
application  of  these  broad  terms  to  the  particular  church  at  Ephesus. 

12.  _  Cite  every  use  of  the  word,  "church,"  or  any  corresponding 
in  this  letter,  and  locate  each  use  under  one  of  three  heads — the 
church  as  an  institution,  a  particular  church,  the  glory  church. 

13.  Give  carefully  all  the  steps  of  the  constitution  of  the  glory 
church. 

14.  What  its  entrance  qualifications? 

15.  Who  the  Christian's  most  formidable  adversaries? 

16.  How  are  Christians  qualified  to  cope  with  them? 

17.  What  great  Baptist  author  illustrates  all  this  in  an  allegory? 

18.  Name  and  explain  each  piece  of  defensive  armor. 

19.  Give  the  offensive  pieces,  and  an  illustration  of  each. 

20.  What  circumstances  of  Paul's  prison  condition  perhaps  sug- 
gested the  imagery  ? 


THE  BOOK  OF  HEBREWS 
XVI 

AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION 
Part  I 

THIS  letter  has  evoked  more  controversy  than  any 
other  New  Testament  book  except  Revelation.  The 
controversy  has  been  mainly  on  two  points,  somewhat 
related — its  canonicity  and  authorship.  A  book  may  be  de- 
termined canonical  whose  author  may  not  be  named  in  the 
text  not  otherwise  determinable.  But  while  positive  knowl- 
edge of  the  author  is  not  essential  to  canonicity,  it  strengthens 
the  claim,  if  the  author  is  shown  to  be  a  prophet  or  an 
apostle. 

CANONICITY  OF  THE  LETTER 

The  elaborate  discussion  of  this  question  belongs  to  the 
department  of  Historical  Introduction,  but  a  condensed  yet 
reliable  statement  of  the  case  is  here  given : 

1.  In  the  East  its  place  among  the  New  Testament  books 
has  never  been  seriously  questioned. 

2.  In  the  West:  (a)  It  was  recognized  as  authoritative 
in  the  first  century,  as  appears  from  the  letter  of  Clement, 
pastor  at  Rome,  about  a.d.  96, 'addressed  to  the  church  at 
Corinth.  Irenseus  speaks  of  Clement  as  embodying  in  his 
letter  the  teaching  which  he  had  recently  received  from  the 
apostles,  (b)  From  the  end  of  the  second  century  to  the 
close  of  the  fourth  its  place  in  the  New  Testament  books 
yras  retained,  but  its  apostolic  origin  questioned  by  some. 

17T 


178     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

Jerome  states  the  case  in  his  time  thus :  "The  epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  is  not  included  in  the  Latin  canon,  nor  Revelation 
in  the  Greek  canon,  and  yet  we  receive  both ;  following  by 
no  means  the  usage  of  the  present  time,  but  the  authority 
of  ancient  writers,  who  for  the  most  part  freely  refer  to 
passages  of  both  as  canonical."  (c)  From  the  end  of  the 
fourth  century  it  was  firmly  established  in  the  Western 
canon,  and  remain  undisturbed  for  more  than  a  thousand 
years,  (d)  In  the  Reformation  period,  like  many  other 
books,  it  was  subjected  to  doubt,  both  on  authorship  and 
somewhat  on  its  matter.  Some  examples  will  indicate  the 
nature  of  the  doubt : 

Erasmus  denied  both  the  received  title  and  subscription 
and  the  Pauline  authorship,  but  says,  "I  do  not  think  that 
the  faith  is  exposed  to  peril  if  the  whole  church  be  mistaken 
in  regard  to  the  title  of  this  epistle  (the  title  attributed  to 
Paul)  so  long  as  it  is  settled  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  its  author, 
and  on  this  point  we  are  agreed" 

Luther  questioned  Paul's  authorship  because,  as  he  inter- 
preted them,  some  passages,  particularly  6 : 4-6,  were  unlike 
Paul.  He  is  the  first  to  suggest,  by  way  of  a  mere  guess, 
that  Apollos  was  the  author,  and  others  since  have  adopted 
his  guess,  notably  Henry  Ward  Beecher. 

Calvin  wrote,  "I,  indeed,  embrace  it  without  controversy 
among  the  apostolic  epistles.  *  *  *  As  to  the  question,  *Who 
composed  it,'  we  need  not  trouble  ourselves  much." 

Much  later.  Dean  Alford :  "Nowhere  are  the  main  doc- 
trines of  the  faith  more  purely  or  more  majestically  set 
forth;  nowhere  holy  scripture  urged  with  greater  authority 
and  cogency ;  nowhere  those  marks,  in  short,  which  distin- 
guish the  first  rank  of  primitive  Christian  writings  from 
the  second  are  more  unequivocably  and  continuously 
present." 

Without  multiplying  citations  we  may  count  it  settled  that 
the  Letter  to  the  Hebrews  is  an  integral  and  very  important 


THE  BOOK  OF  HEBREWS  179 

part  of  the  inspired  word  of  God.  The  questions  evoking 
discussion,  and  wide  divergence  of  views,  are :  When,  where, 
to  whom,  and  by  whom  written  ? 

Canonicity  established  and  conceded,  it  may  be  asked. 
Why  consider  the  relatively  unimportant  questions  of  author, 
date,  place,  and  persons  addressed?  The  sufficient  reply  is, 
that  answers  to  these  questions  will  aid  much  not  only  in 
the  interpretation  of  the  book  itself  and  of  other  books  as 
well,  but  what  is  more  important,  the  relation  of  the  New 
Testament  books  to  each  other,  and  their  adjustment  as 
component  parts  of  a  complete  and  final  revelation  of  God 
to  man,  will  appear.  When  these  books  are  considered  in 
their  adjustment,  New  Testament  revelation  is  no  longer  so 
many  disjoined  fragments,  but  a  complete  and  symmetrical 
system  of  orderly  developed  truth. 

The  reader  will  understand  that  on  these  matters  not  vital, 
and  concerning  which  the  best  scholars  of  Christendom  have 
honestly  differed,  there  must  be  no  assumption  of  dogma- 
tism. With  the  utmost  respect  for  the  opinions  of  others, 
with  our  own  fallibility  of  judgment  premised,  we  will  for 
ourselves  approach  the  subject  in  our  own  way,  announcing 
in  advance  that  our  conclusions  are  no  mightier  than  the 
arguments  back  of  them.    First  of  all,  then,  come — 

THE  TITLE  AND  SUBSCRIPTION 

In  our  common  version  the  title  reads  "The  Epistle  of 
Paul,  the  Apostle,  to  the  Hebrews."  And  the  subscription 
reads:  "Written  to  the  Hebrews  from  Italy  by  Timothy." 
In  the  Canterbury  revision,  the  title  is  simply  "To  the  He- 
brews," and  there  is  no  subscription.  It  is  at  once  conceded 
that  the  oldest  New  Testament  manuscripts  support  the 
Canterbury  revision,  both  as  to  the  superscription  and  the 
subscription,  and  yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that  both  are  evi- 
dence of  an  early  and  general  conviction  that  Paul  wrote  this 
letter  from  Italy  by  Timothy. 


180     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

Our  next  question  is:  Who  are  intended  by  "The  He- 
brews?" It  accords  with  well  established  usage  to  employ 
the  term  "Hebrews"  to  distinguish  Palestinian  Jews  from 
Hellenists,  or  Jews  of  the  dispersion,  as  in  Acts  6,  but  the 
word  may  also  be  employed  to  distinguish  Jews  from  Gen- 
tiles. In  every  case  the  context  determines  whether  the 
term  must  be  understood  in  its  restricted  or  general  sense. 
In  other  words,  if  the  subject  matter  applies  equally  to  the 
Hebrew  people,  regardless  of  locality,  we  cannot  fairly  limit 
it  to  the  Palestinian  Jews.  You  may  not  say  this  letter  was 
written  to  the  Jerusalem  Jews  merely  because  the  superscrip- 
tion says,  "To  the  Hebrews."  Paul  himself  claimed  to  be 
a  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews,  and  yet  he  was  not  a  Palestinian 
Jew,  but  a  Cilician — one  of  the  dispersion.  It  cannot  be 
questioned  that  both  the  argument  and  the  exhortation  apply 
to  Jews  abroad  as  well  as  to  the  Jews  at  home.  We  must 
gather,  then,  from  the  letter  itself  the  locality  of  the  persons 
addressed.  Indeed,  the  superscription,  no  matter  who  put 
it  there,  tells,  us  nothing  more  than,  yea,  not  as  much  as 
the  letter  itself.  From  the  initial  sentence  to  the  benediction 
the  letter  is  to  the  Jews  only,  as  if  there  was  not  a  Gentile 
in  the  w^orld.  Nor  may  we  in  advance  say  that  it  was  written 
to  the  Jews  of  otie  city  only,  that  is,  to  Jerusalem  Jews,  or 
Alexandrian  Jews,  or  Ephesian  Jews,  or  Roman  Jews. 
Everything  in  the  letter  is  too  general  to  admit  of  such  an 
extreme  local  restriction.  One  thing,  however,  everybody  will 
admit — it  was  written  exclusively  to  Jews  professing  to  be 
Christians.  Neither  saint  nor  sinner,  ancient  or  modern, 
denies  that.  It  being  evident  beyond  a  shadow  of  a  doubt 
that  it  was  written  to  Christian  Jews,  the  question  recurs — ■ 
to  Christian  Jews,  zvheref 

Forgetting  everything  we  may  have  heard,  believed,  or 
read,  let  us  go  to  the  letter  itself  for  light.  Let  us  open  our 
book  and  read  the  following  passages:  5:12-14;  6:1-3; 
6:10;  10:32-34;  12:4;  13:3,  18,  19,23. 


THE  BOOK  OF  HEBREWS  181 

From  these  passages  the  following  facts  appear : 

1.  The  religious  history  of  the  persons  addressed  was  well 
and  personally  known  to  the  writer  and  he  to  them. 

2.  Considerable  time  had  elapsed  since  their  conversion. 

3.  They  were  in  a  state  of  arrested  development. 

4.  The  writer  and  Timothy  had  labored  together  with  and 
for  them. 

5.  They  had  suffered  persecution  when  converted,  were 
despoiled  of  goods,  had  been  made  a  "spectacle"  by  either 
their  own  afflictions  or  through  their  compassion  for  im- 
prisoned leaders,  but  had  never  themselves  been  persecuted 
to  martyrdom. 

6.  They  had  been  particularly  noted  for  their  ministering 
to  the  saints. 

7.  They  were  tempted  to  abjure  Christianity  and  relapse 
into  Judaism. 

8.  They  were  called  upon  to  pray  for  the  writer's  restora- 
tion to  them,  and  are  supposed  to  be  glad  of  that  prospect 
and  of  Timothy's  being  set  at  liberty,  and  of  the  prospect  of 
seeing  the  two  together  again. 

There  is  absolutely  nothing  in  any  of  these  facts  to  sug- 
gest Alexandrian  Jews  as  the  persons  addressed.  Nor  did 
the  Alexandrian  Jews  ever  suppose  themselves  to  be  those 
to  whom  the  letter  was  written.  The  facts  also  exclude  the 
Jerusalem  or  Palestinian  Jews,  no  matter  who  the  writer. 
For  example :  Assuming  Barnabas  for  the  author,  Timothy 
does  not  fit;  he  never  worked  with  Barnabas  anywhere, 
much  less  in  Jerusalem  or  Alexandria.  Assuming  ApoUos 
for  the  author,  and  Jerusalem  Jews  addressed,  the  facts  will 
not  adjust  themselves.  He  could  not  have  written  to  Jeru- 
salem Jews  the  passage  at  13:  19,  23;  and  the  passages  at 
6:  10  and  12 :  4  could  not  fit  the  Jerusalem  Jews.  From  the 
beginning  the  Jerusalem  Christians  had  resisted  unto  blood. 
It  was  the  martyr  church  of  the  New  Testament,  and  but 
recently  James,  the  brother  of  our  Lord,  had  been  murdered. 


182     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

From  the  beginning  they  had  been  ministered  unto  by  the 
churches  abroad,  and  had  never  themselves  so  ministered, 
and  there  is  no  New  Testament  evidence  that  they  were  in 
danger  of  apostasy.  Assuming  Apollos  to  be  the  author 
and  Alexandrian  Jews  addressed,  it  is  simply  incredible  that 
his  own  people  received  a  letter  from  him  and  never  attrib- 
uted it  to  him  at  any  time  in  their  history. 

All  of  the  passages  exactly  fit  the  known  history  of  the 
Christian  Jews  of  Asia  Minor,  Macedonia,  and  Achaia,  and 
the  Christian  Jews  of  no  other  place.  They  did  know 
Timothy,  They  had  been  persecuted  and  despoiled  of  goods 
when  they  were  converted.  They  had  been  made  a  spectacle 
in  their  own  afflictions  and  in  their  compassion  for  impris- 
oned leaders.  They  had  not  themselves  been  persecuted  to 
martyrdom.  They  were  in  a  state  of  arrested  development, 
and  from  the  beginning  had  been  under  the  fire  of  tempta- 
tion to  apostatize,  as  is  evident  from  letters  written  by  Paul, 
Peter,  Jude,  and  John.  They  had  been  and  were  yet  noted 
the  world  over  for  ministering  unto  the  poor  saints  of  Jeru- 
salem and  Judea. 

There  is  absolutely  nothing  in  the  letter  to  limit  its  ad- 
dress to  one  town  or  city.  The  context  does  not  favor  one 
church  a  great  majority  of  which  were  Jews.  On  the  con- 
trary, some  of  the  exhortations  can  be  better  understood  by 
supposing  the  Jewish  Christians  addressed  to  be  in  the 
minority,  and  staying  away  from  the  church  meetings  be- 
cause the  pastors  were  Gentiles  or  the  Gentile  element  pre- 
dominated. The  author,  therefore,  voices  the  conviction 
rather  than  a  dogmatic  assertion — 

It  is  impossible  that  this  letter  was  written  to  Jews  either 
at  Jerusalem,  Alexandria,  Rome,  Ccesarea,  or  Syrian  An- 
tioch. 

All  of  them  are  out  of  the  question.  No  one  of  them 
ever  claimed  for  a  moment  to  be  the  recipient  of  the  letter. 
Moreover,  at  the  most  probable  date  of  this  letter  all  Judea 


THE  BOOK  OF  HEBREWS  183 

was  seething  in  revolt  against  Rome,  like  a  boiling  pot,  and 
in  no  condition  to  receive  a  letter  from  any  one.  Therefore, 
in  answer  to  the  question,  "To  whom  addressed  ?"  my  reply 
is.  To  the  Jewish  Christians  of  Asia  Minor  and  Greece.  Of 
course  this  answer  includes  pro-consular  Asia  as  a  part  of 
Asia  Minor.  There  are  much  stronger  arguments  on  the 
persons  addressed  that  can  be  better  cited  under  other  heads. 

The  Occasion  of  the  Letter. — On  this  point  there  is  abso- 
lute unanimity.  Indeed,  the  whole  trend  of  the  letter  leaves 
no  room  for  doubt.  These  Jewish  Christians,  wherever  they 
were,  were  in  eminent  danger  of  abjuring  Christianity  alto- 
gether and  relapsing  into  Judaism.  That  this  may  be  evident 
let  us  open  our  book  and  read  the  following  passages: 
2:  1-3;  3:6,  12-14;  4: 1,  2,  14-16;  10:19-36;  12:1-3,  12-17. 

Here  again  the  context  forbids  the  idea  that  the  persons 
addressed  were  Palestinian  Jews.  The  New  Testament  his- 
tory nowhere  indicates  that  the  Jerusalem  church  was  in 
danger  of  abjuring  Christ  altogether  and  totally  relapsing 
into  Judaism.  The  evidence  is  indeed  abundant  that  many 
of  them  desired  to  make  Gentiles  become  Jews  in  order  to 
become  Christians,  and  that  others,  while  waiving  this  point, 
yet  insisted  that  Jewish  Christians  must  hold  themselves 
aloof  from  social  contact  with  Gentile  Christians,  but 
nowhere  is  there  a  hint  that  they  were  about  to  abjure 
Christianity  altogether. 

In  the  Sadducean  persecution.  Acts  3  and  4,  and  in  the 
Pharisee  persecution,  led  by  Saul  of  Tarsus,  and  in  the 
persecution  by  Herod,  they  had  remained  as  firm  as  a  rock 
in  their  faith.  When  James  and  Jude,  brothers  of  our 
Lord,  and  Peter  write  letters  exhorting  to  steadfastness  in 
faith,  they  write  to  the  Christian  Jews  of  the  dispersion, 
and  not  to  the  Palestinian  Jews.  When  in  the  persecution 
which  had  but  recently  led  to  the  marytrdom  of  James, 
there  is  no  historical  evidence  that  Jerusalem  Christians  were 
in  danger  of  abjuring  Christianity. 


184.     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

Just  here  comes  another  very  forcible  argument  against 
the  idea  that  Palestinian  Jews  are  being  addressed.  There  is 
not  a  word  in  the  letter  that  supposes  the  danger  of  apostasy 
to  arise  from  witnessing  the  imposing  ceremonies  of  the 
Herodian  temple.  While  indeed  the  letter  incidentally  proves 
that  the  temple  is  yet  standing,  and  while  it  clearly  threatens 
the  near  and  utter  destruction  of  the  whole  Jewish  polity  as 
a  covenant,  its  entire  argument  is  based  upon  the  ancient  his- 
toric Judaism  as  established  by  Moses,  Aaron,  and  Joshua. 
It  is  not  even  germane  to  the  argument  to  mention  the  first 
temple  built  by  Solomon.  It  is  a  question  of  origins,  of  the 
dignity  of  founders,  and  not  of  present  imposing  rites  and 
ceremonies.  In  other  words,  the  argument  goes  to  the  root 
of  things,  and  not  to  the  superficial  present.  From  Pentecost 
to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  the  Jerusalem  Jews  were 
safeguarded  against  total  relapse  into  Judaism.  But  not  so 
with  the  Jews  of  the  dispersion.  If  addressed  to  the  Pales- 
tinian Jews,  the  absence  of  special  reference  to  the  services 
of  the  Herodian  temple  is  inexplicable. 

Our  next  question  inquires  for  the  cause  of  the  danger  of 
apostasy.  What  juncture  of  affairs  constituted  the  tempta- 
tion to  abjure  Christianity  ?  The  letter  itself  explains.  First 
of  all,  the  bitterness  of  persecution  was  wearing  out  their 
patience,  and  the  pressure  of  non-Christian  Jews  tempting 
them  to  apostatize  was  very  great.  The  Lord  did  not  come 
to  avenge  them,  as  had  been  promised,  and  they  were  weary 
and  despondent.  They  were  losing  respect  for  their  leaders, 
many  of  whom  were  Gentiles.  They  were  absenting  them- 
selves from  the  popular  assemblies.  This  can  be  best  ac- 
counted for  if  they  were  in  the  minority  and  the  Gentile 
element  predominant;  in  such  case  they  would  not  feel  at 
home  in  this  mixed  crowd. 

In  the  meantime  a  very  subtle  philosophy  was  constantly 
appealing  to  them,  which  has  been  described  in  letters  pre- 
ceding this  one.     The  discussion  against  gnosticism,   so 


THE  BOOK  OF  HEBREWS  185 

prominent  in  the  letters  to  the  Colossians  and  the  Ephesians, 
is  carried  on  in  this  letter.  Its  methods  of  approach  were 
esoteric  and  not  exoteric.  It  worked  privately  from  house 
to  house.  It  slipped  and  crept  and  slided  around  and  whis- 
pered : 

"No  use  to  go  to  church;  you  can  learn  better  at  home. 
Public  gatherings  may  suit  the  vulgar,  'the  great  unwashed/ 
the  hoi  polloi,  but  this  philosophy  appeals  to  the  cultured  few. 
The  Christian  Messiah  at  best  was  only  a  lower  eon,  or  much 
shaded  down  emanation  of  God.  You  may  accept  this  phi- 
losophy and  remain  a  Jew  of  the  type  of  the  Essenes  if  you 
are  inclined  to  asceticism ;  or  you  may  accept  it  and  remain 
a  Jew  of  the  Pharisee-type  if  you  want  to  cling  to  ritualism 
and  the  cycle  of  weekly,  new  moon,  or  annual  Sabbaths.  Or 
you  may  accept  it  and  turn  to  license  and  pleasure,  seeing  that 
sin  resides  only  in  matter.  This  Christianity  is  too  harsh, 
rigid,  and  exacting.  It  calls  on  you  to  sacrifice  everything. 
Why  needlessly  put  your  head  in  the  fire?  Why  give  up 
everything?  You  have  waited  in  vain  for  that  promised 
coming  of  the  Lord.  Your  own  Moses,  Aaron  and  Joshua, 
and  long  line  of  prophets  were  greater  than  this  Nazarene, 
who,  after  all,  was  executed  as  a  felon,  and  it  is  a  shame 
to  become  the  followers  of  a  publicly  convicted  and  executed 
felon.  Christianity  is  impractical.  Humanity  cannot  endure 
its  requirements." 

It  will  be  shown  later  in  the  exposition  that  this  letter  was 
especially  intended  to  controvert  this  many-sided  philosophy 
of  blended  Jewish  and  heathen  elements ;  that  its  arguments 
closely  follow  and  connect  with  the  letters  to  the  Colossians 
and  Ephesians,  and  is  itself  closely  followed  by  and  con- 
nected with  the  letters  of  Jude  and  Peter  addressed  to  the 
same  people  and  called  forth  by  the  same  emergency.  This 
writer,  and  Jude,  and  Peter,  recognized  the  same  danger  of 
apostasy,  the  same  lack  of  patient  endurance,  the  same  temp- 
tation to  deny  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  despair  about 


186     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

His  second  advent.  And  so  did  John,  last  of  all,  long  after 
the  temple  had  fallen,  write  his  letters  and  the  book  of  Reve- 
lation to  the  same  people.  Indeed,  this  emergency  called 
forth  all  of  John's  writings.  In  other  words,  the  provoca- 
tion to  apostatize  was  the  old-time  Jewish  reluctance  to  pay 
the  cost  of  a  spiritual  religion,  whose  rewards  were  in  another 
world;  to  endure  its  privations  in  this  life;  to  patiently  wait 
for  the  Lord.  All  the  exhortations  in  the  letter  are  on  this 
line.  And  here  again  we  find  another  strong  argument  against 
the  thought  that  it  was  written  to  the  Jerusalem  Jews.  The 
gnostic  philosophy  originated  in  the  Lycus  valley  of  pro- 
consular Asia,  and  spread  over  the  section  to  whose  people 
this  letter  was  addressed.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the 
Jerusalem  Jews  were  ever  tempted  to  apostatize  through  this 
philosophy. 

We  now  come  to  the  questions :  Who  wrote  the  letter  to 
the  Hebrews,  when  did  he  write  it,  and  where  ?  Just  where, 
in  order  of  time,  is  its  place  among  the  New  Testament 
books  ?  And  in  what  language  did  he  write  it  ?  Again  dis- 
claiming dogmatism,  the  author  here  expresses  in  one  sen- 
tence an  answer  to  all  of  these  questions  thus : 

//  was  written  in  Greek,  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  near  the  close 
of  the  first  Roman  imprisonment,  just  after  the  Letter  to  the 
Ephesians,  and  was  addressed  exclusively  to  professing  Jew- 
ish Christians  in  Asia  Minor  and  Greece.  It  completes  the 
group  of  letters  of  the  first  Roman  imprisonment. 

In  order  to  account  for  Timothy's  imprisonment  and  re- 
lease, the  reader  will  please  look  at  the  beginning  of  Philip- 
pians,  Philemon  and  Colossians.  In  all  three  of  these  Tim- 
othy is  associated  with  Paul  at  Rome,  as  the  author  of  the 
letters.  But  when  we  look  at  the  beginning  of  the  Letter 
to  the  Ephesians  we  do  not  find  Timothy's  name  associated 
with  Paul's.  There  is  no  evidence  that  he  had  left  Rome,  and 
unless  he  was  imprisoned  at  this  juncture,  there  is  no  fair 
way  to  account  for  his  not  being  associated  with  Paul  in 


THE  BOOK  OF  HEBREWS  187 

the  Letter  to  the  Ephesians.  He  was  speedily  released  after 
that  imprisonment,  however,  and  in  the  Letter  to  the  He- 
brews, following  the  Letter  to  the  Ephesians,  it  is  announced 
that  Timothy  has  been  set  at  liberty,  and  when  we  take  up 
the  first  Letter  to  Timothy  we  can  see  how  the  subscription 
may  have  been  added :  "Written  from  Italy  to  the  Hebrews, 
by  Timothy." 

While  not  contending  for  the  superscription  and  subscrip- 
tion as  a  part  of  the  original  text,  I  am  thoroughly  convinced 
that  both  express  facts,  and  generally  recognized  at  the  time 
they  were  appended  to  the  letter. 

Without  arguing  another  matter  at  all,  the  abiding  con- 
viction is  expressed  that  the  letter  is  not  a  translation  from 
a  Hebrew  original,  nor  is  it  a  treatise,  speech  or  sermon  by 
Paul  which  has  been  used  substantially  by  another  writer, 
but  clothed  in  his  own  style  and  language.  There  is  only  one 
mind  in  the  letter.  It  is  not  a  composite  work.  It  is  not  Luke 
or  Clement  or  Timothy  working  out  the  thoughts  of  Paul. 
The  author  of  the  thoughts  is  the  author  of  the  style  and  of 
the  words.  Any  attempt  to  make  Luke  the  author  because 
some  parts  of  the  letter  resembles  Luke's  style  fails  from  the 
fact  that  the  parts  which  make  it  resemble  Luke's  books  are 
matters  originally  coming  from  Paul  and  merely  quoted  by 
Luke.    Undoubtedly  Paul  fixed  Luke's  style  on  these  points. 

The  letter  is  a  careful  and  elaborate  composition  through- 
out. The  arguments,  each  followed  by  exhortation,  extend 
down  to  verse  i8  of  the  last  chapter.  It  is  a  calm,  quiet, 
painstaking,  deliberately  prepared  document,  and  yet  a  gen- 
uine epistle.  It  grows  out  of  preceding  letters.  Not  as  II 
Corinthians  grew  out  of  I  Corinthians,  but  as  Romans  grew 
out  of  Galatians,  and  as  Ephesians  grew  out  of  Colossians. 
Having  written  a  special  letter  to  the  Colossians  against  the 
gnostic  heresy,  he  wrote  a  circular  letter  elaborating  the  same 
line  of  thought,  which  letter  we  call  Ephesians.  And  having 
written  the  Letter  to  the  Ephesians  addressed  to  the  whole 


188     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

body  of  the  churches  to  which  it  was  sent,  it  fits  exactly  that 
he  should  continue  the  same  thought  or  subject  in  a  letter 
addressed  to  the  Jews  only. 

Careful  preparation  is  evinced,  moreover,  in  the  studied 
self -repression  of  the  author  and  in  the  rigid  restriction  of 
the  argument  to  the  one  view-point  and  purpose. 

While  the  author  of  Hebrews  does  not  sign  his  name,  for 
reasons  to  be  given  later,  the  restraint  is  not  with  a  view  to 
conceal  his  identity.  He  knows  well  to  whom  he  writes,  and 
well  knows  that  they  will  know  him  as  well  as  if  he  had  signed 
his  name  in  the  usual  fashion.  It  is  not  therefore  a  case  of  an 
anonymous  communication,  nor  of  a  nom  de  plume,  to  put 
people  to  guessing  at  the  author.  A  writer  who  wished  to 
conceal  his  identity  by  absence  of  a  signature  would  never 
say,  "Pray  that  I  may  be  restored  to  you.'*  "Our  brother 
Timothy  is  set  at  liberty ;  with  whom,  if  he  come  shortly,  I 
will  see  you."  And  it  may  be  said  here  that  Asia  Minor 
never  doubted  from  whom  the  letter  came,  nor  did  any  other 
place  down  to  the  middle  of  the  second  century. 


QUESTIONS 

X.    On  what  points  has  this  letter  mainly  evoked  controversy? 

2.  May  a  book  be  canonical  whose  author  is  not  named  ? 

3.  Give  brief  statement  of  canonicity  of  this  book. 

4.  Apart   from   canonicity,   what   questions   have  been   widely 
discussed,  with  divergent  views? 

5.  Why  are  these  questions  important? 

6.  Tell  of  the  title  and  subscription,  and  their  value. 

7.  To  whom  was  the  letter  addressed? 

8.  In  what  two  senses  may  this  word,  "Hebrews,"  be  employed, 
and  how  determine  in  a  given  case  which  is  meant? 

9.  Why  may  we  not  conclude  that  the  letter  is  addressed  to  Jews 
of  a  particular  church  or  city? 

10.  To  what  class  of  Hebrews  is  it  addressed? 

11.  What  passages  in  the  letter  bear  on  the  "where"  of  these 
Hebrews,  and  the  facts  developed? 

12.  Show  why  these  facts  do  not  fit  Jerusalem  Jews  or  Alexan- 
drian Jews. 

13.  The  facts  of  these  passages  fit  the  Christian  Jews  where? 

14.  What  the  occasion  of  the  letter,  and  the  passages  bearing  on 


THE  BOOK  OF  HEBREWS  189 

it,  and  why  do  these  passages  exclude  Jerusalem  Jewish  Christians? 

15.  What  other  fact  bears  in  the  same  direction? 

16.  Why  does  this  letter  make  no  reference  to  the  Temple  at 
Jerusalem  ? 

17.  What  causes  were  operating  at  this  time  to  provoke  relapse 
into  Judaism  on  the  part  of  Christian  Jews  in  Asia  Minor  and 
Greece,  and  which  of  these  causes  also  make  against  the  theory  of 
the  letter  being  addressed  to  Jerusalem  Jews  ? 

18.  In  one  sentence  give  the  author's  view  of  who  wrote  this 
letter,  where,  when,  and  in  what  language,  to  whom,  and  in  what 
group  of  letters? 

19.  Account  for  the  reference  in  the  letter  to  Timothy's  being 
set  at  liberty  ? 

20.  Why  not  take  the  position  that  the  thoughts  are  Paul's,  either 
written  originally  in  Hebrew  and  translated  by  another,  or  that  Paul's 
thoughts  are  wrought  out  by  another  in  his  own  style  ? 

21.  Where  do  the  arguments  stop  ? 

2.2.     Show  how  the  letter  is  evolved  from  and  fits  into  other  letters. 
2Z.    Why  is  not  the  letter  anonymous  in  the  ordinary  sense  of 
that  word? 


XVII 

AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION^ 
Part  II 

THE  question  yet  before  us  is,  Who  is  the  author  of 
this  letter?  External  evidence  is  what  has  been 
handed  down  by  tradition  or. history;  internal  evi- 
dence is  gathered  from  the  letter  itself,  that  is,  what  may  be 
inferred  from  its  doctrines,  historical  statements,  and  style 
— style  to  be  used  in  a  very  comprehensive  sense,  including 
the  purity  of  the  Greek  text,  rhetorical  form,  vocabulary, 
phrases,  terms  of  expression,  etc. 

The  argument  against  Paul's  authorship  is  based  entirely 
on  internal  evidence.  A  fair  examination  will  disclose  that 
there  is  not  a  shred  of  external  evidence  either  against  Paul 
or  for  any  other  man.  When,  in  history  it  has  been  conjec- 
turally  attributed  to  others,  this  has  been  based  upon  some 
inference  from  internal  evidence.  The  external  evidence,  be 
it  much  or  little,  is  all  one  way.  It  is  axiomatic  that  external 
evidence  cannot  be  set  aside  by  internal  evidence,  unless  the 
latter  be  overwhelming,  conclusive  and  demonstrative.  In- 
ternal evidence  is  available  by  comparison  only,  i.e.,  this  ques- 
tioned letter  must  be  compared  with  history,  doctrines  and 
style,  as  set  forth  in  unquestioned  sources  of  information. 
Various  names  have  been  suggested  as  the  possible  author. 
Of  these  the  only  ones  worth  a  moment's  consideration  arc 
Paul,  Luke,  Barnabas,  Apollos.  In  the  case  of  Apollos  there 
is  not  a  scrap  of  his  writing  left  to  us  with  which  to  com- 
pare this  letter.  If  he  ever  wrote  anything  we  do  not  know 
it.    He  had  opportunity  to  know  Paul  and  Timothy.    He  was 

190 


INTRODUCTION  TO  HEBREWS  191 

an  Alexandrian  Jew,  an  eloquent  man  and  mighty  in  the 
Hebrew  scriptures.  That  is  the  only  foundation  for  Luther's 
guess  1500  years  after  the  letter  was  written. 

Barnabas  left  no  certain  literary  remains  with  which  to 
make  comparison.  The  matter  of  the  one  document  attrib- 
uted to  him  would  never  suggest  that  he  wrote  this  great, 
immortal  letter.  The  Barnabas  of  Acts  14 :  37-39  and  Gala- 
tians  2: 13  could  never  have  made  the  complete  break  with 
Judaism  that  is  disclosed  in  this  letter. 

Luke  alone,  in  his  gospel  and  Acts,  leaves  us  a  basis 
for  comparison.  But  these  books  present  him  only  as  a 
historian,  carefully  tracing  out  what  others  did  and  said. 
He  himself  makes  no  speeches,  does  no  arguing  or  inter- 
preting. In  him  appears  only  a  hand  and  pen  to  record  the 
deeds  and  words  of  others.  Moreover,  Luke  was  not  a  pure 
Hebrew,  and  perhaps  a  Gentile.  In  Colossians  4,  he  is  not 
reckoned  among  the  circumcision.  He,  if  wholly  a  Gentile, 
is  the  only  one  writing  a  Bible-book.  The  author  of  this 
letter  was  a  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews.  The  parts  of  Luke's 
books  which  most  nearly  resemble  this  letter  are  reported 
speeches  of  Paul,  or  matter  that  he  derived  from  Paul.  In 
Paul's  case  there  is  no  lack  of  documentary  matter  with 
which  to  make  comparison.  But  in  making  comparison,  ob- 
jectors to  Pauline  authorship  have  not  only  ignored  the  va- 
riety of  Paul's  style,  but  have  based  their  conclusions  upon 
the  distinction  between  Hebrews  and  only  a  part  of  Paul's 
writings — mainly  his  letters  to  the  Galatians  and  Romans. 
They  fail  to  discriminate  between  Paul's  method  and  style 
in  writing  to  Gentiles  and  in  writing  to  Jews  exclusively. 

We  go  very  far  toward  the  settlement  of  this  question 
when  we  understand  the  full  extent  of  the  Pauline  literature 
with  which  Hebrews  must  be  compared.  We  must  take  all 
of  the  thirteen  conceded  letters  of  Paul,  and  of  the  reported 
speeches  in  the  Acts  and  even  Stephen's  speech,  supposedly 
reported  to  Luke  by  Paul. 


m     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

Apart  from  Hebrews,  these  books  give  us  our  knowledge 
of  Paul's  life,  doctrines,  and  styles.  It  is  admitted  at  once 
that  if  from  any  or  all  of  the  books  involved  in  the  compar- 
ison, it  could  be  proved  that  Paul  died  before  the  Letter  to 
the  Hebrews  was  written,  that,  of  course,  would  settle  the 
case  against  the  Pauline  authorship.  But  there  is  no  such 
proof.  It  is  impossible  to  fix  either  the  exact  date  of  Paul's 
death  or  the  writing  of  this  letter.  It  would  be  something 
in  a  negative  way  if  it  could  be  shown  that  this  letter  could 
not  be  made  to  fit  well  into  the  period  of  Paul's  life.  But 
it  is  quite  easy  to  find  one  period  of  Paul's  life  into  which  it 
fits  exactly,  and  another  period  where  it  could  possibly  fit. 
It  fits  all  round  just  after  the  Letter  to  the  Ephesians,  as 
the  closing  letter  written  in  Paul's  first  Roman  imprisonment. 
A  case  could  also  be  made  out,  but  not  so  strong,  that  it 
follows  II  Timothy.  This  would  make  it  the  very  last  of 
Paul's  letters. 

A  critic  like  Luther  gets  his  idea  of  Paul's  doctrines  and 
style  from  Galatians  and  Romans,  ignoring  the  fact  that 
not  all  of  Paul's  doctrines  nor  all  of  his  styles  are  confined 
to  these  two  books.  A  statement  on  the  case  of  authorship 
is  about  this :  The  field  against  Paul.  It  is  the  only  way  to 
make  any  kind  of  a  plausible  showing  against  him. 

The  opposition  breaks  down  when  it  attempts  to  support 
the  claim  of  any  other  one  name. 

It  maintains  a  precarious  standing  by  alternatives  only, 
saying,  "The  author  was  Barnabas,  or  Luke,  or  Clement,  or 
Apollos,  or  some  other  man."  Limit  the  issue  to  Paul 
against  Barnabas  alone,  or  any  of  the  others,  and  there 
would  be  no  case  worth  trying. 

Moreover,  the  opposition  breaks  down  when  attempt  is 
made  to  secure  a  consensus  of  judgment  on  the  internal  evi- 
dence. The  ground  continually  shifts  as  taken  by  individual 
objectors  like  the  location  and  formation  of  loose  desert 
sand  driven  by  contrary  winds.    What  one  objector  to  Paul 


INTRODUCTION  TO  HEBREWS  193 

regards  as  quite  conclusive,  another  concedes  to  be  very 
questionable.  It  is  like  the  testimony  of  expert  doctors  in 
a  case  at  court.  The  expert  in  a  specialty  is  the  most  incom- 
petent of  all  witnesses  out  of  his  particular  line ;  he  cannot 
generalize.  "Ne  sutor  ultra  crepidemf  Of  all  men  he  has 
the  least  judicial  mind.  His  dependence  upon  presupposi- 
tions, his  contempt  for  external  evidence,  his  conceit  of  his 
own  power  to  dissect  the  most  ancient  documents,  or  to  put 
aside  as  worthless  the  most  ancient  traditions,  may  qualify 
him  for  special  pleading,  but  never  to  be  a  safe  juryman  or 
a  sane  judge. 

Inasmuch  as  all  of  the  argument  against  Paul's  author- 
ship is  based  upon  internal  evidence,  it  may  be  well  to  submit 
a  fair  statement  of  these  objections  as  developed  from  time 
to  time  in  the  history  subsequent  to  the  apostles,  i.e.,  all  of  it 
worth  considering  as  a  reply  thereto.  They  may  be  summed 
up  under  the  following  heads : 

1.  The  absence  of  his  name  in  either  the  address  or  fare- 
well. The  force  of  this  objection  is  strengthened  by  the  fact 
that  his  name  does  appear  in  the  address  of  his  genuine 
letters,  and  after  I  Thessalonians,  for  reasons  stated,  his 
autograph  is  appended  to  them  at  the  close. 

2.  The  author  of  Hebrews  at  2 : 3  concedes  that  he  was 
not  an  apostle,  but  derived  his  gospel  second  hand  from  the 
apostles,  whereas  Paul's  gospel  was  independent,  original, 
and  first  hand.  To  put  the  objection  in  other  words,  who- 
ever wrote  Galatians  i :  11,  12  could  not  have  written  He- 
brews 2 :  3.  Dr.  Farrar  ventures  to  call  this  decisive  against 
Paul's  authorship. 

3.  The  severity  of  two  passages,  Hebrews  6:4-8  and 
10:26-31  is  not  apostolic,  and  their  doctrine  of  apostasy 
not  Pauline.  These  two  passages  underlie  the  opposition  of 
more  critics  to  Pauline  authorship  than  all  others.  Some, 
in  the  early  centuries,  rejected  the  letter  because  they  sup- 
posed that  the  first  of  these  passages  favored  the  Novation- 


194     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

ists.  The  supposed  teaching  of  apostasy  in  these  passages 
was  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  Luther  being  unwilHng  to 
receive  the  letter  as  Paul's.  Tertullian,  in  trying  to  make 
Barnabas  the  author,  does  so  in  the  very  chapter  in  which 
he  quotes  Heb.  6 :  4-8. 

4.  It  is  objected  that  the  style — the  word  style  here  used 
in  its  comprehensive  sense — is  un-Pauline;  that  it  is  an 
Alexandrian  style,  evincing  such  an  acquaintance  with  Philo 
as  was  not  possessed  by  Paul.  On  this  ground  of  style, 
Origen,  while  conceding  Paul's  virtual  authorship,  attributes 
the  form  of  the  composition  to  an  unknown  amanuensis. 
Erasmus,  the  great  scholar  in  the  beginning  of  the  Reforma- 
tion time,  declared  the  style  of  Hebrews  wholly  unlike  Paul's, 
and  Luther,  on  the  same  ground,  after  being  disturbed  by 
the  passages,  6 : 4-8  and  10 :  26-31,  and  recalling  Acts  18 :  24- 
28,  made  the  first  guess  known  to  history  that  ApoUos  was 
the  author.  It  has  become  quite  fashionable  now  to  count 
Luther's  guess,  made  1500  years  after  the  letter  was  written, 
a  demonstration. 

5.  The  absence  of  certain  favorite  terms  of  Paul,  e.g., 
"justify"  (Greek  dikaiod)  used  so  often  in  Galatians  and 
Romans,  and  the  use  of  "purify"  (Greek  katharizo)  instead, 
and  the  infrequent  use  of  Sateria — Salvation. 

6.  The  relative  purity  of  the  Greek. 

On  one  or  the  other  or  all  of  these  internal  grounds,  some 
learned  men,  while  attributing  the  doctrine  and  thought  to 
Paul,  have  assigned  the  composition  and  rhetorical  form  to 
an  amanuensis,  while  others  have  denied  to  Paul  any  con- 
nection with  the  authorship.  Let  us  consider  these  objections 
seriatim : 

I.  It  is  admitted  that  the  absence  of  Paul's  name  in  either 
the  address  or  farewell  is  contrary  to  his  custom,  and  cer- 
tainly calls  for  rational  and  adequate  explanation.  When 
once,  however,  the  explanation  is  sufficient,  the  absence  of 
the  name  constitutes  a  strong  presumption  of  Paul's  author- 


INTRODUCTION  TO  HEBREWS  195 

ship.  For  example,  while  no  good  reason  can  be  assigned 
why  Apollos  should  omit  his  name,  if  he  was  the  author,  the 
reasons  of  Paul's  omission  of  his  name,  under  the  circum- 
stances, are  very  strong.  Let  us  consider  these  circumstances. 
Paul  was  the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  This  letter  is  exclu- 
sively to  the  Jews.  Its  whole  line  of  argument  designedly 
stops  short  of  his  own  call  and  testimony.  To  make  it  thor- 
oughly effective,  to  strike  from  it  an  embarrassing  complica- 
tion, he  must  utterly  repress  any  allusion  to  his  own  mission, 
never  acceptable  to  Jewish  minds.  In  other  words,  he  ^ust, 
in  this  case,  rigidly  carry  out  one  of  the  great  self-reprtoo.ng 
principles  of  his  life  so  forcibly  expressed  by  himself  else- 
where :  "To  the  Jews  I  became  as  a  Jew,  that  I  might  gain 
Jews.  I  am  become  all  things  to  all  men  that  I  may  by  all 
means  save  some"  (I  Cor.  9:19-23).  The  object  of  the 
letter  is  to  prevent  Christian  Jews  from  abjuring  Christian- 
ity and  relapsing  into  Judiaism.  The  argument  is  limited  to 
this  view.  Gentiles  are  not  considered.  Hence  as  Paul 
writes  he  does  not  write  as  the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  The 
argument  is  necessarily  shut  up  to  proof  anterior  to  his  own 
call,  and  apart  from  his  own  special  mission.  His  usual  offi- 
cial signature  or  any  appeal  to  his  own  testimony  would 
unnecessarily  complicate  his  problem  and  prejudice  its 
solution.  His  problem,  hence,  is  not  "Shall  Gentiles  become 
Christians  ?"  or  "Shall  they  become  Jews  in  order  to  become 
Christians  ?"  or  "Shall  Jews  admit  Gentile  Christians  to  social 
fellowship?"  but  it  is  "Shall  professing  Jews  abjure  Chris- 
tianity altogether  and  return  to  strict  Judiaism  ?"  Therefore, 
not  being  an  apostle  to  the  circumcision,  he  omits  his  name 
and  apostleship,  but  being  a  Jew  he  has  the  feeling  of  a  Jew — 
that  intense  desire  to  speak  and  write  to  his  brethren  accord- 
ing to  the  flesh,  expressed  so  forcibly  in  his  other  letters. 
The  man  who  wrote  Rom.  9:  1-5,  10:  1-3,  I  Cor.  3:5  and 
9 :  19-23  would  not  hesitate  to  suppress  himself  and  his  signa- 
ture in  this  case  in  order  that  his  arguments  might  stand  upon 


im     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

their  Jewish  merits,  unhandicapped  by  official  signature 
which  would  necessarily  introduce  a  view  of  the  case  not  at 
all  within  his  purpose  or  the  scope  of  his  argument,  and  this 
self-repression  is  a  marked  characteristic  of  Paul.  Its  deli- 
cacy in  this  case  surpasses  that  displayed  in  Philemon  8. 
This  man  always  preferred  to  be  a  home  missionary,  and  had 
to  be  choked  off  that  line  of  work.  He  kept  turning  his  face 
toward  Jerusalem  against  both  divine  and  prophetic  inter- 
diction (see  Acts  22:13-21  and  21:10-13).  In  all  the 
history  of  missions,  if  perhaps  we  except  Jonah's  case,  there 
is  not  another  so  remarkable — a  man  burning  as  with 
unquenchable  fire  to  be  a  home  missionary,  but  divinely 
thrust  out  and  whipped  into  being  a  foreign  missionary. 

2.  The  second  objection  to  Pauline  authorship  is  based 
on  Heb.  2 : 3  which  reads,  "Which  salvation  having  at  first 
been  spoken  through  the  Lord,  was  confirmed  to  us  by  them 
that  heard."  This  language  does  not  concede  that  the  author 
was  not  an  apostle,  nor  does  it  intimate  that  he  derived  his 
own  gospel  of  salvation  from  others.  It  simply  affirms  that 
Christ  first  spoke  His  own  gospel  of  salvation,  and  that  it 
was  confirmed  to  the  Jews  by  the  original  apostles,  after  the 
gifts  at  Pentecost,  all  of  which  was  literally  true  before 
Paul's  conversion  and  call.  His  own  call  and  independent 
gospel  did  not  concern  Jews,  to  whom  exclusively  he  is  now 
writing,  and  whom  he  is  addressing  strictly  on  a  line  that 
would  appeal  to  them.  Under  such  circumstances  to  say 
that  it  is  unlike  Paul  to  omit  reference  to  his  call  and  gospel, 
contradicts  a  striking  incident  of  his  life,  for  he  makes  sub- 
stantially the  same  statement  under  like  circumstances  at 
Pisidian  Antioch,  as  reported  in  Acts  13:31.  What  is  there 
in  one  case  more  than  the  other  ?  Compare  them  fairly.  It 
is  true  in  Hebrews  he  says  that  the  gospel  spoken  by  our  Lord 
was  confirmed  to  us  by  them  that  heard  it.  Addressing 
Jews  only  at  Antioch  he  says :  "He  was  seen  for  many  days 
of  them  that  came  up  from  Galilee  to  Jerusalem,  who  are  now 


INTRODUCTION  TO  HEBREWS  197 

His  witnesses."  This  does  not  intimate  that  Paul  himself  had 
not  seen  the  risen  Lord,  nor  that  he  was  not  now  a  witness. 
In  both  cases  and  for  the  same  reason  he  omits  reference  to 
himself.  Then,  if  he  at  Antioch  of  Pisidia,  addressing  Jews 
only,  might  refer  exclusively  to  the  confirmation  of  Christ's 
resurrection  by  the  testimony  of  the  twelve,  without  impugn- 
ing his  own  independent  testimony,  which  he  does  not  there 
even  mention,  why  may  he  not,  in  a  letter  to  Jews  only — a 
letter  whose  argument  designedly  stops  short  of  his  own  call 
to  the  Gentiles — refer  to  the  same  kind  of  confirmation  of 
the  gospel,  without  disparagement  of  his  independent  gospel 
and  testimony?  In  other  words,  with  equal  propriety,  he 
might  be  the  author  of  Acts  13 :  30,  31  and  of  Heb.  2 :  3,  4. 
We  may  always  distrust  an  inference  that  is  decisive  to  Dr. 
Farrar  when  it  comes  to  historical  criticism. 

3.  The  objection  to  Pauline  authorship  based  on  the  pas- 
sages 6:4-8  and  10:26-31  arises  solely  from  the  objectors' 
questionable  interpretation  of  these  passages.  It  is  an 
assumption  merely  that  the  severity  complained  of  in  them 
is  not  apostolic.  It  is  many  times  paralleled  in  the  words  of 
our  Lord  and  in  the  teachings  of  Paul  elsewhere.  More- 
over, it  is  no  easier  to  find  apostasy  here  than  in  many 
unquestioned  utterances  of  Paul.  When  we  come  in  the 
exposition  to  interpret  these  passages,  it  will  not  be  difficult 
to  show  that  there  is  nothing  here  to  contradict  the  final 
preservation  and  perseverance  of  the  saints.  This  objection 
is  on  a  line  with  Luther's  going  off  at  a  tangent  against  the 
Letter  of  James  because  he  misunderstood  its  import. 
Neither  James  nor  Hebrews  is  "an  epistle  of  straw." 

4.  The  objection  based  on  style  in  its  broadest  sense  is 
equally  inconclusive.  The  most  indeterminate  method  of 
proving  authorship  known  to  literature  is  the  style  method. 
All  historical  critics,  like  other  experts,  lose  the  power  of 
generalization  in  the  narrowness  and  depths  of  the  rut  into 
which  specialism  leads  them.    A  blind  mole  burrowing  is  an 


198     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

authority  on  earth-worms,  but  is  no  judge  of  landscapes  or 
mountain  scenery.  Let  it  be  repeated  as  proverbial  that  a 
specialist  is  unsafe  on  a  jury  or  the  bench. 

A  man,  by  a  life  devoted  to  microscopic  details  concerning 
a  very  small  matter,  may  become  an  authority  on  the  variety 
of  humming  birds,  and  might  be  able  to  prove  ultimately 
that  the  sprigs  of  down  on  a  mouse's  tail  are  more  numerous 
than  the  stickers  on  a  grasshopper's  hind  leg,  but  that  would 
not  qualify  him  to  judge  of  the  spiritual  beings  of  the  cosmos. 

We  have  seen  the  result  when  style  adepts  have  turned 
themselves  loose  on  Junius,  Shakespeare,  Homer,  or  Milton. 
Each  one  is  able  to  prove  to  his  own  satisfaction  anything  he 
chooses,  but  let  him  not  hope  to  convince  his  brother  adepts. 
Each  of  them  has  his  own  demonstration,  equally  worthless. 
How  easy  to  prove  in  this  way  that  the  author  of  **I1 
Penseroso"  could  not  have  written  "L'  Allegro."  They 
forget,  if  they  ever  knew,  that  a  genius  possesses  many 
styles,  and  adapts  his  vocabulary  to  each  new  theme,  yea, 
even  his  turns  of  expression. 

Paul  was  the  loftiest  genius  among  men.  Compare  the 
rugged  fiery  style  of  the  Letter  to  the  Galatians  with  the 
apostrophe  to  Love  in  I  Cor.  ij,  and  the  mighty  logic  of 
Romans  with  the  sweet  humility  and  tact  of  Philemon. 

In  the  first  case  it  is  like  comparing  Niagara  Falls  with 
Lake  Tahoe,  and  in  the  other  the  Himalaya  range  with  a 
violet  in  a  hedge-row.  The  man  who  delivered  the  address 
before  Agrippa,  the  address  on  Mars  Hill,  and  who  wrote 
Romans,  Philemon,  I  Cor.  13,  was  a  master  of  all  styles  and 
vocabularies.  And  why  should  not  a  cultured  Jew,  reared 
in  the  university  city  of  Tarsus,  graduated  from  the  Rab- 
binical School  at  Jerusalem,  familiar  with  the  Greek  poets. 
Rabbi  of  a  Hellenist  Synagogue  in  Jerusalem — why  should 
he  be  ignorant  of  Philo  and  Alexandrian  literature?  The 
Mediterranean  is  not  very  broad,  and  Alexandria  was  in 
constant  touch  with  Tarsus,  in  literature  as  well  as  trade. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  HEBREWS  199 

We  may  safely  take  for  granted  that  Paul  knew  more  about 
Philo  and  Alexandrian  literature  than  all  of  his  critics  put 
together. 

5.  We  now  reply  to  the  fifth  serious  objection  to  Pauline 
authorship,  towit :  The  use,  or  nonuse,  of  certain  words. 

(i)  It  is  conceded  that  Hebrews  does  not  use  the  word 
"justify" — dikaioo,  so  often  used  in  Galatians  and  Romans — 
and  does  use  "purify — katharizo — but  the  reason  is  obvious : 
Justification  was  the  theme  of  Galatians  and  Romans,  or  the 
salvation  for  us.  Sanctification  is  the  theme  of  Hebrews,  or 
the  salvation  in  us.  Paul's  words  correspond  to  his  theme, 
e.g.,  he  uses  the  word  "law" — nomos — seventy-five  times  in 
Romans  because,  as  the  correspondent  to  justification,  he 
needs  it,  but  does  not  use  it  in  I  and  H  Thessalonians,  H 
Corinthians,  Colossians,  Titus,  and  H  Timothy,  because  he 
does  not  need  it.  If  the  absence  of  the  word  "justify"  from 
a  letter  disproves  Pauline  authorship,  then  he  was  not  the 
author  of  I  and  II  Thessalonians,  II  Corinthians,  Philip- 
pians,  Philemon,  Colossians,  and  Ephesians.  And  while  he 
does  not  use  katharizo — purify — in  Romans  and  Galatians, 
because  not  needed,  yet  he  does  use  it  where  the  same  sense 
requires  it  quite  as  many  times  in  II  Corinthians,  Ephesians, 
and  Titus,  as  in  Hebrews.  "Justify"  is  a  legal  term  relat- 
ing to  Christ's  work  for  us.  "Purify"  is  a  Holy-Spirit-term 
applying  the  work  of  Christ  in  us.  Unfortunately  some 
critics  get  their  one  idea  of  Paul's  style  and  words  from  his 
discussion  of  the  legal  aspects  of  salvation  in  Galatians  and 
Romans,  making  that  alone  the  standard  of  his  style  and 
vocabulary. 

The  letters  of  the  first  Roman  imprisonment  make  a  great 
advance  in  the  development  of  the  plan  of  salvation.  In  the 
same  way  they  argue  against  Pauline  authorship  because  of 
the  infrequent  use  of  soteria — salvation — in  Hebrews,  though 
Romans  uses  the  word  five  times,  to  seven  in  Hebrews,  and 
all  his  other  letters  use  it  nineteen  times. 


200     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

6.  And  where  will  the  narrow  argument  based  on  the 
relative  purity  of  the  Greek  in  different  compositions,  com- 
posed at  different  times  and  under  different  circumstances, 
lead  us  ?  It  would  certainly  lead  us  to  deny  that  the  author 
of  John^s  gospel  was  also  the  author  of  the  Apocalypse,  and 
the  same  argument  would  distribute  the  New  Testament 
books  among  many  unnamed  authors,  reverse  all  established 
dates  and  annihilate  all  historical  evidence.  A  dim-eyed  Jew, 
rapidly  writing  in  great  sprawling  letters  to  the  Galatians — 
writing  in  the  hand  of  fiery  speech  off-hand,  in  a  foreign 
tongue — would  hardly  turn  out  the  same  kind  of  Greek  in 
the  calm,  carefully  prepared  treatise  to  the  Hebrews.  Let 
a  professor  of  Greek  in  an  American  college  today,  while 
on  a  trip  away  from  his  books,  stirred  by  profound  emotion, 
write  rapidly  off-hand  an  impassioned  letter  in  Greek — write 
it  as  if  he  were  talking — and  afterwards  in  the  quiet  of  his 
study,  with  grammar  and  lexicon  at  hand,  prepare  care- 
fully, without  haste,  a  labored  and  dispassionate  treatise  in 
Greek  for  a  literary  magazine,  and  then  let  him  submit  these 
two  documents  to  one  of  these  infallible  experts  and  hear 
this  verdict:  "It  is  impossible  that  one  man  wrote  both. 
The  author  of  No.  i  struggles  in  embarrassment  to  express 
himself  in  an  unfamiliar  tongue.  His  sentences  are  ragged, 
elliptical  and  faulty.  The  author  of  No.  2  thinks  in  Greek. 
His  Greek  is  like  a  polished  shaft  of  Parian  marble  chiseled 
by  the  sculptor.  His  vocabulary  is  abundant  and  choice. 
His  argument  is  articulated,  his  periods  well  rounded,  and 
his  style  superbly  rhetorical.  No  amount  of  external  proof 
could  convince  a  cosmopolitan  scholar  that  the  same  man 
wrote  both,  however  much  it  might  mislead  an  uncultured 
provincial/*    Lo !  Sir  Oracle,  the  Owl ! 

All  the  objections  based  on  vocabularies,  on  methods  of 
quotation,  on  phrases  and  terms  of  expression,  are  not  only 
utterly  inconclusive  against  Paul,  but  there  can  be  made  out 
a  much  stronger  case  for  him  than  against  him  on  these  very 


INTRODUCTION  TO  HEBREWS  201 

grounds,  as  we  see  in  the  "Speaker's  Commentary"  in  the 
introduction  to  Hebrews. 
The  case  of  Paul  may  be  briefly  stated  thus : 

EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE 

The  external  evidence  is  cumulative  and  threefold :  Scrip- 
tural, Documentary,  and  Traditional. 

Scriptural. — The  first  scriptural  evidence  is  derived  from 
II  Pet.  3: 15:  "And  account  that  the  long  suffering  of  our 
Lord  is  salvation;  even  as  our  beloved  brother  Paul  also, 
according  unto  the  wisdom  given  to  him,  wrote  unto  you." 
If  this  testimony  be  relevant  it  is  decisive.  The  argument 
for  its  application  to  the  case  is  substantially  this : 

1.  Peter  wrote  his  first  letter  to  elect  Jews  of  the  disper- 
sion in  five  provinces  of  Asia  Minor  (I  Pet.  1:1). 

2.  His  second  letter  was  to  the  same  people  (H  Pet.  3:1). 

3.  In  this  second  letter  he  says,  "Our  beloved  brother 
Paul  hath  written  to  you" 

4.  The  particular  topic  discussed  by  Peter,  concerning 
which  he  alleges  agreement  with  Paul,  is  the  emphatic  topic 
in  our  Letter  to  the  Hebrews,  namely,  the  long  suffering  of 
our  Lord  in  delaying  His  advent,  which  delay  was  tempting 
them  to  apostatize. 

5.  Peter  distinguishes  this  letter  of  Paul  to  the  Hebrews 
from  all  his  other  letters. 

6.  The  most  probable  date  of  Peter's  second  letter  allows 
ample  time  for  his  knowledge  of  the  Letter  to  the  Hebrews. 
Indeed,  Peter's  letter  shows  evident  acquaintance  with  the 
group  of  Paul's  letters  written  during  his  first  Roman  im- 
prisonment, and  designedly  supplements  Paul's  great  argu- 
ment against  the  Gnostics. 

7.  If  our  Letter  to  the  Hebrews  be  not  the  one  which 
Peter  attributed  to  Paul,  then  Paul's  letter  is  lost.  The  only 
escape  from  this  argument  would  be  proof  that  Peter  him- 
self never  wrote  the  second  letter  attributed  to  him,  but  this 


^02     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

would  be  only  a  nominal  escape,  since  somebody  wrote  that 
letter  and  the  direct  testimony  as  to  Paul  writing  to  the 
Hebrews  remains.  Whatever  may  be  the  merits  of  this  argu- 
ment as  to  Peter's  testimony,  it  is  certain  that  Peter  never 
said,  *'Our  beloved  brother  Barnabas,  or  Apollos,  or  Clement, 
or  Luke,  hath  written  unto  you." 

The  second  scriptural  evidence  is  the  constructive  testi- 
mony of  Paul  himself  derived  from  a  comparison  of  the  last 
paragraph  of  the  Letter  to  the  Hebrews  with  certain  passages 
in  the  letters  to  Timothy.  Hebrews  closes  with  the  announce- 
ment that  Timothy  is  at  liberty  and  about  to  visit  the  people 
addressed  in  that  letter,  and  that  Paul  expected  to  be 
acquitted  and  restored  to  them,  perhaps  accompanying 
Timothy.  Now,  later  after  Paul's  release  in  I  Tim.  i :  3  and 
n  Tim.  1 :  15  we  find  that  Paul  and  Timothy  were  together 
in  Ephesus,  the  metropolis  of  Asia.  The  fit  is  like  that  of  a 
glove  on  the  fingers  or  the  feathers  in  a  dove's  tail. 

The  third  scriptural  evidence  is  based  on  H  Tim.  i :  15-18. 
The  strange  fact  is  disclosed  that  Paul  was  not  welcomed  in 
Ephesus,  that  all  Asia  had  turned  against  him,  and  but  for 
the  ministering  care  of  one  family,  the  household  of  Onesiph- 
orus,  Paul  would  have  suffered  there,  and  there  seems  to 
be  a  hint  that  his  very  life  might  have  been  in  danger. 
Timothy  knew  of  these  ministrations  of  Onesiphorus  and 
when  Paul  went  away  he  was  constrained  by  exhortation  to 
remain  in  Ephesus  to  see  if  he  could  not  right  matters  there. 
Now,  in  some  way  we  must  account  for  this  sudden  revulsion 
of  sentiment  against  Paul — a  revulsion  that  amounted  to  a 
revolution.  We  can  easily  understand  how  a  Gentile  convert, 
under  the  influence  of  the  Gnostic  heresy,  would  naturally 
hate  a  man  who  exposed  that  heresy  in  the  letters  to  the 
Colossians  and  Ephesians,  but  something  more  is  necessary 
to  account  for  the  sudden  sweeping  opposition  of  Jewish 
Christians  to  Paul.  This  Letter  to  the  Hebrews,  and  it  alone, 
accounts  for  so  great  a  revolution  of  sentiment.    The  case 


INTRODUCTION  TO  HEBREWS  203 

was  about  this :  Not  only  all  Palestine,  but  the  dispersion  as 
well,  was  seething  at  this  time  with  a  revolt  against  Rome. 
That  awful  struggle  had  already  commenced  which  in  two 
or  three  years  would  terminate  in  the  total  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  and  of  the  temple,  and  the  utter  overthrow  of 
the  entire  Jewish  polity.  The  prophetic  denunciations  of 
Moses  (Deut.  28: 47-68,  of  Daniel  (Dan.  9:  26,  27),  and  of 
our  Lord  (Matt.  23:29-39;  Luke  19:42-44),  were  now 
massed  in  an  awful  menace  and  hanging  over  Jerusalem  as 
a  storm-cloud  of  wrath  about  to  burst  upon  the  holy  city 
and  people.  Everywhere,  at  home  and  abroad,  a  frenzy 
possessed  this  doomed  people.  Their  patriotism  impelled 
them  to  stand  up  for  their  old  order,  the  holy  city  and  the 
sacred  temple,  and  to  become  implacable  foes  to  those  who, 
in  their  judgment,  slighted  these  holy  things. 

At  this  juncture  of  intolerant  frenzy  came  Paul's  Letter 
to  the  Hebrews,  plainly  announcing  an  eternal  severance  of 
Christianity  from  Judaism.  Far  beyond  anything  in  other 
letters,  it  calls  for  a  final  break  between  the  old  and  the  new 
covenant,  and  foreshows  the  speedy  overthrow  of  the  entire 
Jewish  polity.  Its  covenant  is  annulled,  its  heavens  are 
shaken,  and  the  whole  system  has  become  as  worthless  as 
the  perishing  shell  of  a  nut  whose  kernel  has  sprouted  into 
a  new  tree.  Its  great  leaders — Abraham,  Moses,  Aaron, 
Joshua,  and  David — are  overshadowed  by  a  greater  Lord, 
of  whom  they  are  but  feeble  types.  To  unconverted  Jews 
such  a  letter  at  this  juncture  was  as  a  spark  of  fire  to  a 
powder  magazine,  and  the  undeveloped  Christian  Jew, 
always  leaning  back  toward  Jerusalem,  could  not  stand 
before  the  pressure,  and  so  all  Asia  was  turned  against  Paul. 
He  was  outlawed  and  banned.  It  became  treason  to  give 
him  shelter,  food,  or  drink.  His  very  appearance  would 
stir  a  mob  into  a  most  lawless  and  fanatical  outbreak  of 
violence. 

In  such  a  view  of  the  case  we  can  understand  the  unselfish 


S04     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

devotion  of  Onesiphorus,  who,  having  previously  at  Rome 
shared  Paul's  sufferings,  now  with  his  household  shelters, 
surreptitiously  hides  away  and  ministers  unto  this  hunted 
man  when  he  attempted  to  join  Timothy  at  Ephesus.  It  is 
fairly  inferable  from  II  Tim.  4:  13  that  Paul's  escape  from 
Asia  Minor  was  a  flight,  leaving  behind  in  his  hurry  at  Troas 
his  cloak  and  books  or  parchments. 

If  it  be  objected  that  this  argument  in  supporting  Paul's 
appearance  again  in  Ephesus  flatly  contradicts  his  own 
prophecy  in  Acts  20 :  25,  the  reply  is  a  flat  denial  of  contra- 
diction. Both  the  prophecy  and  the  history  are  true  and 
only  apparently  contradictory.  We  find  in  the  case  of  Abra- 
ham (Rom.  4: 18-21  and  Heb.  11 :  17-19)  an  illustration  of 
apparent  conflict  betwen  history  and  prophecy.  We  may 
find  another  case  of  the  unbelieving  captain  described  in 
II  Kings  7:1,  2,  and  17.  So  here  he  did  indeed  return  to 
Ephesus,  but  the  elders  of  that  church  from  whom  he  parted 
in  tears  at  Miletus,  saw  his  face  no  more. 

Documentary. — ^As  one  example  only  of  documentary  evi- 
dence, we  cite  the  fact  that  in  all  the  early  manuscripts  of 
the  New  Testament — the  Alexandrian,  the  Vatican,  and  the 
Sinaitic — the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  is  not  only  grouped  with 
Paul's  letters,  but  is  placed  between  the  Ephesians  and  the 
pastoral  epistles.  This  indicates  a  widespread  consensus 
among  the  learned  in  favor  of  the  Pauline  authorship. 

Traditional. — It  would  go  far  beyond  the  limits  of  this 
chapter  to  cite  all  the  traditional  evidence,  but  we  do  give 
the  earliest  traditions.  Clement  of  Alexandria,  a.d.  165-220, 
preserved  the  tesitmony  of  Pantenus  that  the  Letter  to  the 
Hebrews  was  written  by  Paul.  Pantenus  almost  touched  the 
times  of  the  apostles.  The  testimony  of  Origen,  186-253  a.d., 
is  also  very  striking.  He  says,  "Not  without  good  reason 
have  the  men  of  old  times  handed  down  this  letter  as  Paul's." 
Here  Origen  speaks  simply  as  a  witness  as  to  what  is  tradi- 
tion.    His  declaration  is  clear  that  the  men  of  old  times 


INTRODUCTION  TO  HEBREWS  205 

handed  down  this  letter  as  Paul's.  As  a  critic  on  internal 
evidence  he  may  attribute  the  style  to  an  amanuensis. 

When  we  come  to  consider  the  internal  evidence,  it  will 
then  be  appropriate  to  give  the  views  of  Origen,  the  critic, 
to  the  effect  that  while  the  doctrine  and  thoughts  of  the 
letter  are  Pauline,  its  composition  was  by  an  unknown  scribe* 
This  view  of  what  was  tradition  prevailed  throughout  the 
East,  and  particularly  in  the  section  where  lived  the  people 
addressed.  Asia  Minor  never  attributed  the  letter  to  any- 
body but  Paul. 

While  some  critical  views,  as  to  internal  evidence  con- 
jectured, have  attributed  this  letter  to  others  than  Paul,  there 
is  not  a  shred  of  traditional  evidence,  fairly  considered, 
against  Paul  and  in  favor  of  any  other  man.  It  is  admitted 
that  while  at  first  this  letter  was  received  as  apostolic  at 
Rome,  i.e.,  in  the  Western  churches,  yet  later  for  about  two 
centuries,  on  internal  grounds  alone,  the  Pauline  authorship 
was  questioned,  but  by  the  meeting  of  the  Council  of  Laodi- 
cea  and  of  Carthage,  the  consensus  swung  back  to  Paul.  It 
is  a  little  remarkable  that,  whether  in  earlier  or  later  times, 
historical  critics,  influenced  by  what  they  conceive  to  be 
internal  evidence,  have  questioned  Paul's  authorship,  as  time 
passes  the  pendulum  swings  back,  and  like  the  temporary 
quiverings  of  the  magnetic  needle  which  finally  settles  in  a 
definite  position  pointing  to  the  north,  so  always  the  judg- 
ment returns  to  Paul  as  the  writer  of  this  letter. 

INTERNAL  EVIDENCE 

The  internal  evidence  in  favor  of  the  Pauline  authorship 
may  be  briefly  stated  thus : 

1.  On  all  hands  everywhere  the  doctrines  and  thought  are 
attributed  to  Paul ;  even  many,  who  suppose  an  amanuensis, 
Luke,  or  ApoUos,  or  some  other,  say  that  whoever  wrote  it 
expressed  Paul's  thought  in  his  own  style. 

2.  Vocabulary. — There  are  in  this  letter  more  than  fifty 


206     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

Greek  words,  all  of  them  found  elsewhere  in  Paul's  letters  or 
speeches,  but  found  nowhere  else  in  the  New  Testament. 

3.  There  is  also  a  large  number  of  words  in  this  letter  fre- 
quently used  elsewhere  by  Paul,  but  seldom  used  by  any  other 
New  Testament  writer.  In  the  same  way  it  would  be  easy 
to  cite  a  long  list  of  phrases  and  modes  of  expression  in  this 
letter  to  be  found  elsewhere  only  in  the  speeches  and  letters 
of  Paul. 

4.  Metaphors. — The  metaphors  employed  in  this  letter  are 
various.  Some  domestic,  some  architectural,  some  pugilistic, 
some  theatrical,  some  nautical,  some  medical,  some  based  on 
the  races  in  the  Isthmian  games,  and  all  these  metaphors  we 
find  used  by  Paul  in  similar  constructions  in  his  letters  and 
speeches  elsewhere. 

5.  Quotations. — Any  student  of  Paul  readily  sees  that 
certain  Old  Testament  passages  had  fixed  themselves  on  his 
mind.  This  is  evidenced  in  his  speeches  and  other  letters. 
In  this  letter  these  are  the  very  Old  Testament  passages 
which  he  quotes.  The  coincidence  is  not  only  remarkable  as 
to  the  passages  quoted,  but  in  the  method  of  citing  the  Old 
Testament  and  in  his  ways  of  viewing  and  handling  religious 
truth.  There  is  not  here  and  now  time  and  place  for  a  critical 
reply  to  the  objections  on  internal  evidence,  but  it  is  cer- 
tainly safe  to  say  that  taking  internal  evidence  alone,  an 
argument  can  be  made  for  Paul's  authorship  far  stronger  to 
a  judicial  mind  than  anything  that  can  be  made  out  against 
him. 

6.  The  strongest  argument  for  Paul  on  the  internal  evi- 
dence is  found  in  the  closing  paragraph  of  Heb.  13:  18-25. 
In  every  word  and  phrase  and  idea  this  paragraph  is  Pauline. 
It  is  impossible  to  make  it  apply  with  any  degree  of  plausibil- 
ity to  any  other  author.  We  have  only  to  compare  it  with 
the  methods  of  closing  in  his  other  letters  to  note  its  refer- 
ence to  Timothy,  to  his  request  for  prayer  that  he  may  be 
restored  to  them,  its  harmony  with  the  conceded  history  of 


INTRODUCTION  TO  HEBREWS  207 

Paul's  previous  life  and  labors,  and  particularly  with  dove- 
tail exactness  it  fits  into  the  group  of  Paul's  letters  which 
preceded  this  closing  letter  of  the  first  Roman  imprison- 
ment, in  order  to  be  assured  of  Pauline  authorship. 

Having  examined  many  authorities  and  studied  thousands 
of  pages  of  controversy  on  this  subject,  the  author  is  thor- 
oughly settled  in  his  mind  that  Paul,  and  no  other,  is  the 
author  of  the  Letter  to  the  Hebrews;  that  it  concludes  the 
group  of  letters  written  during  the  first  Roman  imprison- 
ment, following  Ephesians,  elaborating  the  doctrines  set 
forth  in  the  preceding  letters  against  Gnosticism,  properly 
introducing  the  pastoral  letters,  and  that  it  was  addressed 
to  the  Jews  of  Asia  Minor  and  Greece. 


QUESTIONS 

r.    What  the  two  kinds  of  evidence  in  determining  authorship, 
and  what  their  relative  value? 

2.  How  only  is  internal  evidence  available? 

3.  How  does  this   fact  alone  affect  the   suggested  names  of 
Apollos,  Barnabas  and  Luke? 

4.  What  other  and  decisive  argument  against  Luke? 

5.  What  capital   error   usually  committed  by  critics   opposing 
Pauline  authorship? 

6.  What  the  full  sources  of  matter  confessedly  derived  from 
Paul  must  be  considered  in  the  comparison? 

7.  What  one  proof  would  be  decisive  against  Paul,  and  why 
cannot  it"  be  given  ? 

8.  What  a   fair  statement  of  the  case  of  authorship,  and  on 
what  points  does  this  case  against  Paul  break  down? 

9.  Name    under    six   heads    the    strongest   arguments    against 
Pauline  authorship. 

10.  What  the  reply  to  them  seriatim? 

11.  What  the  nature  of  the  external  evidence  for  Pauline  author- 
ship, and  what  its  three  classifications? 

12.  State  the  argument  on  the  first  scriptural  evidence  in  support 
of  Paul's  authorship ;  the  second ;  the  third. 

13.  What  documentary  proof  tends  to  the  same  conclusion  ? 

14.  Give  substance  of  traditional  evidence  coming  from  the  East. 

15.  State  the  case   in   the  West,   citing  authorities   up   to  the 
Reformation, 

16.  How  was  the  question  reopened  in  the  Reformation-period, 
and  what  the  position  of  Erasmus,  Luther,  and  Calvin  respectively? 

17.  State  in  substance  the  internal  evidence  favoring  Pauline 
authorship. 


XVIII 

ANALYSIS  OF  HEBREWS  AND  OUR  LORD'S 
SONSHIPS 

BEFORE  commencing  the  exposition  of  this  remark- 
able letter,  I  wish  to  refer  briefly  to  commentaries 
suitable  to  English  students.  I  commend,  heartily, 
"Jamieson,  Faussett  and  Brown,"  brief  but  critical  and 
trustworthy,  though  dissenting  from  it,  however,  in  the 
persons  to  whom  the  letter  is  addressed.  I  commend  very 
heartily  "The  Speaker's  Commentary."  Its  introduction  is 
superb,  indeed,  the  best  I  have  seen,  though  I  differ  from 
this  "Commentary"  as  to  the  persons  addressed  in  the  letter. 
I  commend,  with  some  reservation,  "The  Pulpit  Commen- 
tary," particularly  its  homiletical  part.  Farrar,  in  "The 
Cambridge  Bible,"  is  as  usual  sharp  and  erratic.  Of  course, 
as  a  radical  critic,  he  dissents  from  authorship  by  Paul. 
Edwards,  in  "The  Expositor's  Bible,"  is  weak.  In  "The 
American  Commentary,"  Kendrick  follows  the  radical  critics 
in  his  introduction,  and  gives  an  easy  flowing  translation  of 
Hebrews.  I  have  never  regarded  Kendrick  as  occupying  the 
first  rank  on  the  matter  of  soundness  of  judgment  in  inter- 
pretation. 

ANALYSIS  OF  HEBREWS 

I.    Introduction,  answering  the  questions : 

1.  Who  wrote  it? 

2.  In  what  language? 

3.  Where  written  ? 

4.  What  the  circumstances  of  the  writer? 

5.  When  written  ? 

6.  To  whom? 

7.  The  occasion,  or  circumstances  of  those  addressed. 

208 


ANALYSIS  OF  HEBREWS  209 

8.  Of  what  group  of  letters  is  it  a  part,  and  what  its  place  in 
the  group  ? 

9.  What  its  character  and  style  ? 
10.    What  its  theme? 

II.  The  Mediator  of  the  New  Covenant  Is  the  Son  of  God, 

1:1-9 

1.  By  eternal  subsistence.  In  His  pre-existence :  (i)  "The  efful- 
gence of  God's  glory  and  very  image  of  His  substance."  (2) 
'Through  whom  also  He  made  the  worlds."  (3)  "Upholding  all 
things  by  the  word  of  His  power." 

2.  In  His  incarnation 

(i)     "The  First-born."    "Made  purification  of  sins." 

3.  In  His  resurrection 

(i)  "Thou  art  my  son,  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee."  "When 
He  again  bringeth  His  first-born  into  the  world."  (2)  "Sat  down 
at  the  right  hand  of  the  majesty  on  high."  "Thy  throne,  O  God,  is 
forever  and  ever."  (3)  "Anointed  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above 
His  fellows." 

III.  Superior  to  the  Material  Universe,  i  :  10-12 

1.  He  created  and  upholds  it. 

2.  He  is  changeless ;  it  changes. 

3.  He  dissolves  it  by  fire  at  His  final  coming  (i:  li,  12,  and  II 
Pet.  3:4-12),  and  recreates  it  (Rev.  21:1). 

IV.  Superior  to  All  Old  Testament  Prophets  as  a  Revealer 

1.  Their  revelation  fragmentary,  diverse,  incomplete. 

2.  His  revelation  complete,  and  closes  the  canon  of  scripture. 

3.  It  is  a  gospel  of  salvation — theirs  a  promise. 

y.    Superior  to  Angels — Good  and  Bad 

1.  To  good  angels:  (i)  In  His  threefold  Sonship  He  is  the 
object  of  their  worship.  (2)  In  His  expiation  of  sin.  (3)  In  His 
inheritance.  (4)  In  His  enthronement.  (5)  In  His  anointing  with 
the  oil  of  gladness.  (6)  In  their  subordination  of  service.  (7)  In 
His  confirmation  of  them  for  their  fidelity  in  ministering  to  the 
heirs  of  salvation.  (8)  In  His  gospel  as  compared  with  the  law 
disposed  by  them.  (9)  In  the  higher  penal  sanctions  of  His  gospel 
over  the  penal  sanctions  of  the  law.  (10)  In  the  gospel's  better 
accrediting  than  the  law.  (11)  In  His  sympathetic  priesthood. 
(12)  In  His  becoming  a  brother  to  them  whom  they  only  serve. 

2.  To  bad  angels:  (i)  In  His  successful  resistance  to  Satan's 
temptation,  both  in  the  desert  and  in  Gethsemane.  (2)  In  His  com- 
plete victory  over  Satan  and  all  his  demons  on  the  cross.  (3)  In 
delivering  Satan's  victims.    (4)  In  His  final  judgment  of  them. 

yi.    Greater  than  Moses,  the  Mediator  of  the  Old  Covenanc 

1.  The  builder  of  the  house  greater  than  the  house. 

2.  The  Son  in  the  house  greater  than  the  servant. 


«10     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

3.  The  house  built  by  the  Son  greater  than  the  house  built  by 
the  servant. 

4.  Neither  Moses  nor  the  people  led  out  of  bondage  by  him  ever 
reached  the  earthly  promised  land,  but  Jesus  enters  the  heavenly 
promised  land,  saying,  "Here  am  I  and  the  children  thou  hast 
given  me." 

VII.  Greater  than  Joshua,  the  Captain  General  of  Israel 

The  rest  into  which  Joshua  led  his  generation  was  imperfect  and 
temporary,  but  Jesus  entered  the  true  rest  of  redemption. 

VIII.  The  Seventh  Day  Sabbath 

Commemorating  the  rest  after  creation  (Gen.  2:2,  3),  and  com- 
memorating the  temporal  deliverance  from  Egypt  (Deut  5:4-15), 
and  of  the  imperfect  rest  of  Joshua  (Heb.  4:8),  was  nailed  to  fiie 
cross  of  Christ  and  blotted  out  (Col.  2:14,  16,  17),  and  forever 
superseded  by  another  day — the  Christian's  Sabbath — "Sabbath- 
keeping"  (Sabbatismos)  that  remaineth  to  the  people  of  God," 
commemorating  the  resurrestion-rest  of  Christ's  finished  work  of 
redemption  (Heb.  4:8-10). 

IX.  Greater  than  Aaron  the  High  Priest 

1.  In  descent  from  Judah,  not  Levi. 

2.  After  the  order  of  Melchizedek. 

3.  Sinless,  whereas  Aaron  was  a  sinner. 

4.  Aaron  died,  but  He  ever  liveth  to  intercede,  and  therefore  is 
able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  all  that  come  to  God  through  Him. 

5.  In  sympathetic  touch  with  His  people. 

X.  The  General  Superiority  of  the  New  Covenant  Over  thi 

Old  Covenant  (Heb.  8: 5  to  10: 18) 

1.  In  its  better  promises. 

2.  In  its  better  surety. 

3.  It  is  the  substance  of  which  the  other  was  the  shadow. 

4.  Written  on  the  heart  instead  of  tablets  of  stone. 

5.  In  the  dignity  and  intrinsic  merit  of  its  one  great  expiatory 
sacrifice,  offered  once  for  all. 

6.  This  one  expiation  blots  out  sin  and  its  remembrance;  the 
multitude  of  the  others,  oft  repeated,  only  passed  sin  over  till  this 
one  came. 

7.  In  the  personal  and  experimental  knowledge  of  God  possessed 
by  all  members  of  the  new. 

&  All  the  members  of  the  new  arc  priests  unto  God,  having  a 
supwior  festival  and  better  non-expiating  sacrifices  (13:1013, 
15,  16). 

9.  The  old  broken  repeatedly  by  one  of  the  parties  to  it,  and 
disregarded  by  the  other. 

10-  The  old  in  its  city,  its  tabernacle,  and  all  its  appointments 
and  sacrifices  and  priesthood  and  ritual  and  ordinances  forever 


ANALYSIS  OF  HEBREWS  211 

taken  away.  The  new  abideth  forever,  thoroughly  kept  by  its  surety, 
and  so  provides  for  all  its  members  that  they,  when  fully  saved, 
will  forever  keep  it. 

XI.  All  the  Worthies  of  the  Old  Testament  Times 

Won  their  victories  by  faith— the  great  first  principle  of  the  new 
covenant  (Heb.  ii). 

XII.  The  Encouragements  to  a  Successfxjl  Race 
Under  the  new  far  exceed  those  of  the  old  (Heb.  12: 1-17). 

XIII.  The  Outcome  of  the  New 

Far  better  and  more  glorious  (Heb.  12:18-24).  The  covenant- 
argument  has  its  climax  in  chapter  12  and  closes  at  13 :  16.  The 
Mediator-argument  finds  its  climax  in  13 : 8. 

XIV.  Closing  Words  (13: 17-25)' 

The  one  theme  of  this  book  is :  Christian  Jews  should  hold 
fast  to  the  profession  of  their  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  steadily 
going  forward  to  maturity,  and  not  relapse  into  Judaism, 
because  the  new  covenant,  mediated  by  our  Lord,  forever 
supersedes,  and  on  all  points  is  infinitely  superior  to  the  old 
covenant  given  through  the  disposition  of  angels  and  medi- 
ated by  Moses. 

The  argument  and  exhortation  rest  on  the  nature,  person, 
and  office  of  our  Lord  in  relation  to  salvation,  and  on  the 
excellencies  of  the  new  covenant  mediated  by  Him.  So 
resting,  the  argument  naturally  commences  with  the  dignity 
and  worth  of  the  Mediator  as  contrasted  with  all  other  intel- 
ligences, and  then  develops  the  excellencies  of  His  covenant. 

Jesus  the  Messiah  is  the  one  hero  of  the  book  from  start 
to  finish.  The  arguments,  each  followed  by  appropriate 
exhortation,  commence  with  verse  i,  reach  the  climax  as  to 
the  covenant  in  chapter  12,  and  close  with  the  priesthood  of 
all  Christians  and  the  superiority  of  their  festivals  and  of 
their  non-expiatory  sacrifices,  at  Heb.  13: 10,  15,  16.  The 
climax  on  the  Mediator  is  reached  at  13:8. 

The  Mediator  of  the  new  covenant  is  first  presented  to 
view  in  His  threefold  Sonship  to  the  Father : 


2ia     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

1.  The  Sonship  of  His  pre-existence,  i.e.,  prior  to  time  and 
creation  of  the  universe.  He  was  the  Son  of  God  by  eternal 
subsistence,  or,  as  this  book  expresses  it,  "being  the  efful- 
gence of  His  glory  and  the  very  image  of  His  substance." 
The  activities  of  this  substance  are  thus  expressed: 
"Through  whom  He  also  made  the  worlds,"  and  His  prov- 
idence after  their  creation,  "upholding  all  things  by  the  word 
of  His  power."  Eternity  of  being,  creation,  providence,  set 
forth  His  essential  deity  and  overthrow  the  false  concep- 
tions of  the  Gnostic  philosophy  concerning  eons,  which  at 
this  very  time  is  one  of  the  active  causes  tending  to  apostasy. 
On  this  point,  as  on  others,  the  book  fits  into  the  preceding 
letters  of  the  first  Roman  imprisonment,  rounding  up  their 
argument,  and  prepares  for  the  interfitting  of  subsequent 
New  Testament  books.  We  cannot,  except  by  violence  to 
the  system  of  correlated  revelation,  disrupt  it  from  this  con- 
nection. But  it  is  the  evident  purpose  of  the  book  to  connect 
His  first  Sonship  with  the  second  and  third  Sonships,  reach- 
ing the  climax  of  the  argument  as  to  Mediator  in  verse  8  of 
the  last  chapter:  "Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday  and 
today,  yea,  and  forever." 

2.  Son  of  God  by  procreation  of  the  Virgin  Mary — His 
"first-born."  Compare  Luke  i :  35  and  H  Sam.  7 :  14.  This 
chapter  expresses  the  work  of  this  Sonship  in  four  distinct 
offices : 

(a)  Prophet :  "Hath  at  the  end  of  these  days  spoken  unto 
us  in  His  Son"  (1:2). 

(b)  Both  priest  and  (c)  expiating  sacrifice:  "When  He 
had  made  purification  of  sins"  (1:3).  Other  parts  of  the 
letter  give  elaborate  details  of  His  priesthood  and  vicarious 
sacrifice,  which  will  be  considered  later. 

(d)  King:  "I  will  be  to  Him  a  Father  and  He  will  be  to 
me  a  Son"  (latter  clause  of  1:5).  This  is  a  quotation  from 
n  Sam.  7.  The  verses  immediately  before  it  are:  "When 
thy  days  are  fulfilled,  and  thou  shalt  sleep  with  thy  fathers,  I 


ANALYSIS  OF  HEBREWS  «15 

will  set  up  thy  seed  after  thee,  that  shall  proceed  out  of  thy 
bowels,  and  I  will  establish  His  kingdom.  He  shall  build  a 
house  for  my  name,  and  I  will  establish  the  throne  of  His 
kingdom  forever"  (H  Sam.  7: 12,  13). 

It  is  this  promise  to  David  which  influenced  him  more  than 
all  other  words  of  God  to  him,  and  evoked  the  matchless 
72nd  Psalm ;  occasioned  the  kingdom  prophecies  of  Daniel, 
Zechariah,  and  Micah,  and  the  testimonies  so  elaborately  set 
forth  in  the  gospel  of  Matthew,  on  the  King  and  kingdom. 
But  so  far,  the  allusions  are  to  the  King  and  His  birth,  and 
in  the  setting  up  of  His  kingdom,  and  the  constitution  of  His 
church  before  His  death.  It  is  the  King  building  and  estab- 
lishing and  not  His  reigning  after  His  exaltation.  The  w^ord, 
"first-born,"  belongs  to  the  second  Sonship,  i.e.,  so  far  as  it 
relates  to  His  first  coming  into  this  world,  and  not  "the 
bringing  in  again." 

3.  The  Son  of  God  by  His  resurrection:  "Thou  art  my 
Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee."  "And  when  He 
again  bringeth  in  His  first-born  into  the  world."  The  first 
passage,  i :  5,  first  clause,  is  a  quotation  from  Psalm  2,  and 
by  Paul  himself,  is  expounded  as  applying  to  His  resurrec- 
tion at  Acts  13:33.  The  other  passage:  "When  He  again 
bringeth  in  His  first-born  into  the  world,"  needs  careful  con- 
sideration. It  means  that  as  He  brought  Him  first  into  the 
world  by  His  incarnation — His  birth  of  the  Virgin  Mary — so 
He  brought  Him  into  the  world  the  second  time  at  His  resur- 
rection. It  means  that  when  He  died  on  the  cross  He  left 
the  world  and  His  spirit  ascended  to  the  Father,  as  in  Luke 
23 :  46 — "And  Jesus,  crying  with  a  loud  voice,  said,  'Father, 
into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit,*  and  having  said  this  He 
gave  up  the  spirit." 

Here  arises  a  series  of  crucial  questions :  Where  did  the 
spirit  of  Jesus  go  when  separated  from  His  body,  why  did 
it  go  there,  and  how  long  did  it  stay  there,  and  leaving  there, 
where  did  it  next  go,  and  for  what  purpose,  and  how  long 


n^     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

did  He  remain  at  this  second  place,  and  for  what  purpose, 
and  then  where  did  He  next  go  and  why,  and  where  is  He 
now,  and  what  doing,  and  how  long  will  He  remain,  and 
then  where  will  He  go,  and  for  what  ? 

The  answers  are:  His  spirit  went  to  heaven;  He  went 
there  as  High  Priest  to  sprinkle  on  the  mercy  seat  the  blood 
shed  on  the  cross  and  make  atonement  for  sins ;  He  remained 
there  in  the  interval  between  His  death  and  resurrection ;  He 
then  returned  to  the  earth  for  His  glorified  resurrection- 
body,  and  remained  on  earth  comforting  and  instructing  His 
disciples  for  forty  days,  and  then  He  again  ascended  to 
heaven,  soul  and  body,  and  sat  down  at  the  right  hand 
of  God,  crowned  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords,  and 
there  He  reigns  as  King  and  makes  intercession  as  High 
Priest  until  His  third  and  final  advent  to  raise  the  dead  and 
judge  the  world  and  then  turn  over  the  kingdom  to  the 
Father. 

Let  us  note  very  carefully  the  following  points : 

1.  At  His  first  advent  He  assumed  the  body  of  His  humil- 
iation to  become  the  sacrifice  for  sin.  At  His  second  advent 
He  assumed  the  body  of  His  glory  for  reigning  and  inter- 
ceding in  heaven.  At  His  final  advent  He  will  assume  His 
mystical  body,  the  church,  for  its  glorification  forever. 

2.  When  His  body  died,  His  soul,  negatively,  (a)  did  not 
descend  into  (Gehenna)  hell.  His  descent  into  hell  was  on 
the  cross,  soul  and  body,  during  the  three  hours  of  darkness ; 
(b)  His  soul  did  not  go  into  hades  considered  as  a  place,  in 
order  to  preach  a  gospel  unto  the  wicked  dead,  nor  to  deliver 
Old  Testament  saints  from  a  half-way  prison,  but,  positively, 
according  to  Leviticus  i6,  entered  heaven  to  make  atone- 
ment in  the  Holy  of  Holies  for  offering  and  pleading  the 
merit  of  His  expiating  blood.  On  that  great  day  of  atone- 
ment (Lev.  i6)  there  was  continuous  action.  Immediately 
after  the  death  of  the  vicarious  sacrifice,  the  high  priest, 
with  the  warm  blood,  parted  the  veil  which  hid  the  holy  of 


ANALYSIS  OF  HEBREWS  ^15 

holies.  This  blood  of  the  typical  vicarious  sacrifice  cleanses 
the  typical  sanctuary  and  makes  atonement.  There  is  no 
halt  in  the  proceedings;  the  action  is  continuous.  So  this 
letter  will  tell  us  how  Jesus  passes  through  the  veil — that  is, 
by  the  death  of  His  body — and  enters  into  the  Most  Holy 
Place  beyond  the  veil  and  cleanses  with  His  own  nobler  blood 
the  true  sanctuary  and  makes  atonement. 

To  make  this  clear,  let  us  repeat :  One  of  the  greatest  ques- 
tions of  New  Testament  theology  is :  How  was  the  soul  of 
our  Lord  employed  in  the  interval  between  His  death  and 
resurrection?  Some  make  hades  an  intermediate  place  be- 
tween heaven  and  hell  (Gehenna),  divided  into  two  compart- 
ments— Paradise  for  the  good,  and  Tartarus  for  the  wicked. 
This  they  call  "the  middle  life"  They  contend  that  all  Old 
Testament  saints  are  side-tracked  in  Paradise,  and  that  all 
the  lost  of  Old  Testament  times  are  side-tracked  in  Tartarus 
until  the  final  judgment  and  that  the  same  disposition  is  now 
made  of  the  souls  of  good  and  bad.  See  J.  R.  Graves' 
"Middle  Life,"  Bishop  McTyiere's  sermon  in  "Methodist 
Pulpit,  South,"  afterwards  regretted,  as  I  am  informed, 
and  Bishop  Hobart's  (Episcopal)  funeral  sermon  on  a 
brother  bishop,  and  the  interpretation  of  the  creed:  "He 
descended  into  hell  (hades). 

On  this  theory  some  contend,  by  a  misinterpretation  of 
I  Pet.  3:19,  20 ;  4:6,  that  the  disembodied  soul  of  Christ, 
between  His  death  and  resurrection,  was  employed  in  preach- 
ing a  saving  gospel  in  Tartarus  to  those  who  perished  in  the 
flood.  Others,  citing  apocryphal  books,  contend  He  entered 
into  Paradise  and  announced  to  the  souls  of  the  saints  rest- 
ing there  the  finishing  of  His  work  for  their  salvation,  and 
that  He  took  out  with  Him,  when  He  left,  the  souls  of  Abra- 
ham and  other  Old  Testament  saints.  On  similar  lines  is 
based  the  Romanist  theory  of  Purgatory.  When  we  come 
to  interpret  I  Pet.  3:19,  20 ;  4 : 6,  all  these  theories  will  be 
examined  in  a  special  chapter.    Just  now  our  concern  is  to 


^16     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

establish  positively  where  He  was  and  how  employed  in  the 
interval  between  His  death  and  resurrection. 

The  answer  is  suggested  by  His  own  words  on  the  cross : 
"It  is  finished.  Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit." 
And  He  gave  up  the  spirit,  intensified  by  the  recorded 
prodigy :  "The  veil  of  the  temple  was  rent  in  twain  from  top 
to  bottom"  (Luke  23:45)  with  this  comment  in  our  letter: 
"Which  we  have  as  an  anchor  of  the  soul,  a  hope  both  sure 
and  steadfast  and  entering  into  that  which  is  within  the  veil ; 
whither  as  a  forerunner  Jesus  entered  for  us,  having  become 
a  High  Priest  forever  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek" 
(Heb.  6:  19,  20)  ;  "But  into  the  second  the  high  priest  alone, 
once  in  the  year,  not  without  blood,  which  he  offereth  for 
himself  and  for  the  errors  of  the  people:  The  Holy  Spirit 
thus  signifying  that  the  way  into  the  holy  place  hath  not  yet 
been  made  manifest  while  the  first  tabernacle  is  yet  standing. 
But  Christ  having  become  a  High  Priest  of  the  good  things 
to  come,  through  the  greater  and  more  perfect  tabernacle, 
not  made  with  hands,  that  is  to  say,  not  of  this  creation,  nor 
yet  through  the  blood  of  goats  and  calves,  but  through  His 
own  blood,  entered  in  once  for  all  into  the  Holy  Place,  hav- 
ing obtained  eternal  redemption.  For  Christ  entered  not 
into  a  holy  place  made  with  hands,  like  in  pattern  to  the 
true,  but  into  heaven  itself,  now  to  appear  before  the  face 
of  God  for  us."  (Heb.  9:7,  8,  11,  12,  24)  ;  "Now  where 
remission  of  these  is,  there  is  no  more  offering  for  sin.  Hav- 
ing, therefore,  brethren,  boldness  to  enter  into  the  Holy  Place 
by  the  blood  of  Jesus"  (Heb.  10:  18,  19).  Here  it  is  evident 
that  the  veil  which  hid  the  holy  of  holies  typified  Christ's 
body.  When  His  body  died  that  veil  was  forever  rent. 
Through  this  rent  body  He  entered  the  heavenly  Holy  of 
Holies  and  there  offered  His  own  expiating  blood  an  offer- 
ing through  the  eternal  Spirit,  hence  in  12:22-24,  the  last 
glorious  thing  the  Christian  comes  to  is  "the  blood  of  sprink- 
ling," not  on  his  heart  as  applied  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in 


ANALYSIS  OF  HEBREWS  217 

regeneration,  but  that  blood  sprinkled  on  the  mercy  seat  in 
the  heavenly  sanctuary. 

It  has  been  objected  to  this  view  that  Jesus  said  to  Mary 
after  His  resurrection:  "I  have  not  yet  ascended  to  my 
Father,"  but  that  refers  to  His  ascension  in  His  glorified 
body,  and  not  in  His  disembodied  spirit.  His  body  could  not 
be  raised  until  His  spirit  had  made  atonement  in  heaven, 
hence  it  said:  "Now  the  God  of  peace  who  brought  again 
from  the  dead  the  great  shepherd  of  the  sheep  with  the  blood 
of  an  eternal  covenant,  even  our  Lord  Jesus." 

I  once  heard  a  preacher  say  that  Jesus  never  sprinkled 
that  blood  on  the  mercy  seat  in  heaven  until  His  ascension  in 
His  risen  body  forty  days  after  His  resurrection  as  described 
in  Acts  1 :  10.    I  asked  him  two  questions : 

1.  "If  the  high  priest  in  Leviticus  i6  waited  forty  days 
after  the  sacrificial  goat  was  slain  to  take  the  blood  into  the 
sanctuary  ?" 

2.  "How  the  body  of  Jesus  could  be  raised  until  the  blood 
of  the  covenant  was  on  the  mercy  seat  ?" 

It  was  through  his  rent  body,  not  His  risen  body  that  our 
Forerunner  reached  that  sanctuary.  When  He  expiated  sin 
on  the  cross  it  was  necessary  that  He  offer  the  blood  in  the 
sanctuary  for  atonement.  So  long  as  the  blood  remained  at 
the  cross  it  could  not  be  made  efficacious.  It  must  be  accepted 
to  become  a  propitiation.  The  mercy  seat  was  the  place  of 
propitiation.  Therefore  when  His  body  died,  His  soul  imme- 
diately passing  through  the  veil — a  rent  body — entered  into 
the  heavenly  sanctuary  to  make  His  expiation  effective  in  the 
salvation  of  men.  It  was  the  culmination  of  the  whole 
process  of  the  work  of  His  second  Sonship. 

His  third  Sonship  starts  at  the  resurrection.  He  was 
brought  to  life  through  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant 
accepted  in  heaven.  This  makes  clear  the  passage  which 
Milton  misunderstood:  "And  when  He  again  bringeth  in 
the  first-born  into  the  world  He  saith :  *And  let  all  the  angels 


218     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

of  God  worship  Him.' "  His  soul  was  out  of  the  world  and 
in  heaven.  He  must  be  brought  into  the  world  again  to 
obtain  and  inhabit  His  risen  and  glorified  body,  which  is  His 
second  advent,  as  our  souls  must  come  from  heaven  with 
Him  at  His  third  and  final  advent,  to  obtain  and  inhabit  our 
glorified  bodies  (I  Thess.  4: 14).  And  as  the  angels  had 
worshiped  Him  in  His  second  Sonship  (Luke  2:9-14; 
Matt.  4: 11-20)  so  now  in  His  third  Sonship — His  risen  and 
glorified  humanity — God  says,  "Let  all  the  angels  of  God 
worship  Him."  You  may  rest  assured  that  all  of  Psalms  2 
and  no  apply  to  His  third  Sonship  as  expressed  in  this  first 
chapter  and  affirmed  in  Acts  4 :  23-28,  and  in  many  other 
New  Testament  passages. 

I  once  had  a  friendly  private  controversy  with  a  Campbell- 
ite  who  affirmed  that  there  could  be  no  law  of  pardon  till 
Jesus  became  the  Son  of  God,  which  took  place  at  His  resur- 
rection, and  therefore  Acts  2 :  38  was  the  first  law  of  pardon 
under  the  new  covenant,  and  so  all  gospel  cases  of  pardon 
must  not  be  considered.  I  told  him  that  his  fallacy  consisted 
in  ignoring  the  second  Sonship,  and  that  in  all  His  Sonships 
sinners  were  pardoned,  and  that  the  plan  of  salvation  was 
one  plan  from  Abel  to  the  final  judgment,  as  the  eleventh 
chapter  of  this  book  abundantly  shows.  It  is  to  this  third 
Sonship  that  His  heirship  and  His  anointing  with  gladness, 
and  His  session  at  God's  right  hand,  all  belong.  He  was 
appointed  heir  because  of  the  reconciliation  He  accomplished 
in  His  second  Sonship,  so  our  lesson  declares  (1:4),  and 
the  great  passage  in  Philippians  2:6-11.  So  testify  also 
Psalms  2  and  no.  Equally  clear  also  His  anointing  with 
gladness  1:9;  12:2,  which  will  be  considered  more  par- 
ticularly in  another  connection. 

3.  Superior  to  the  Universe  (i :  10-12). — We  must  note 
that  in  all  the  first  two  chapters  the  arguments  connect  with 
Philippians,  Colossians  and  Ephesians  in  a  demonstration 
against  the  Gnostic  heresy  concerning  creation  and  eons. 


ANALYSIS  OF  HEBREWS  219 

Here  our  Lord's  pre-eminence  over  the  universe  appears 
from: 

(i)  He  created  it.  (2)  His  providence  upholds  it.  (3) 
His  eternity  and  immutability.  (4)  He  dissolves  it  at  His 
will. 

On  this  last  point  the  reader  will  recall  the  process  by 
which  the  chaotic  matter  of  the  earth  was  reduced  to  order 
(Gen.  1:6-10)  by  the  creation  of  the  atmosphere  separat- 
ing the  waters  above  from  the  waters  below,  and  then  sep- 
arating the  waters  below  from  the  land,  and  how  this  process 
was  reversed  in  bringing  about  the  flood  (Gen.  7:11; 
7: 17-24),  and  then  renewed  in  restoring  the  old  condition 
after  the  flood  (Gen.  8 : 2,  3) .  That  was  a  memorable  muta- 
tion, and  showed  God*s  control  over  the  ordinary  course  of 
nature.  He  will  recall  His  covenant  with  Noah,  pledging 
continuity  of  the  order  of  nature,  and  safeguarding  against 
another  water  dissolution  while  the  earth  remaineth  (Gen. 
8:22;  9:8-17). 

But  here  in  our  lesson  is  predicted  a  more  remarkable 
mutation — a  dissolution  by  fire  (Heb.  i :  11,  12).  And  no 
reliance  on  what  is  called  "the  settled  course  of  nature"  will 
avail  against  this  dissolution.  Soon  after  this  letter  Peter 
wrote  to  the  same  people  his  great  argument  on  the  same 
line  (H  Pet.  3: 1-13),  and  reminded  the  Christian  Jews  of 
Asia  Minor  of  this  very  letter  of  Paul  (H  Pet.  3:  14-16). 
Jesus  is  sovereign  over  nature's  course,  which  He  established, 
and  in  it  brings  mutation  at  His  will. 

4.  Greater  as  a  Revelator  than  all  the  Old  Testament 
Prophets  (1:1,  2)  : 

( 1 )  In  all  His  Sonships  He  is  a  revelator  of  the  Father — 
the  visible  of  the  invisible  God.  The  effulgence  and  image 
in  His  first  Sonship,  so  in  His  second  Sonship  (John  14: 
8,  9),  and  so  in  His  third  Sonship. 

(2)  In  the  teaching  of  His  prophetic  office.  Their  reve- 
lation  was    fragmentary,    infrequent,    diverse,    incomplete 


2^0     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

(i :  I,  2),  and  often  beyond  their  own  understanding  (I  Pet. 
i:  10-12). 

(3)  His  revelation  illumines  theirs,  dispels  its  mysteries, 
and  completes  the  canon  of  the  scripture. 

(4)  It  unfolds  in  panorama  the  events  of  all  time  touching 
the  kingdom  of  God,  until  the  great  culmination  (see  Rev. 
1:1,  and  throughout  the  book). 

QUESTIONS 

1.  What  commentaries  named  on  this  book,  and  how  com- 
mended ? 

2.  Give  the  main  points  of  the  author's  analysis. 

3.  What  the  theme  of  this  book? 

4.  On  what  does  the  argument  and  exhortation  rest? 

5.  How  does  the  argument  naturally  commence,  what  does  it 
develop,  who  the  hero  of  the  book,  and  what  the  terminals  of  the 
several  arguments? 

6.  What  the  threefold  Sonship  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Mediator  of 
the  new  covenant? 

7.  What  His  work  in  the  first  Sonship,  and  how  expressed? 

8.  Against  what  heresy  are  the  first  two  chapters  especially 
directed,  with  what  preceding  letters  does  this  argument  connect, 
and  into  what  subsequent  N.  T.  books  by  other  writers  does  it  fit? 

9.  What  the  activities  of  our  Lord  in  His  second  Sonship? 

10.  What  the  activities  of  our  Lord  in  His  third  Sonship? 

11.  How  many  advents  of  our  Lord  into  the  world,  and  what  the 
purpose  of  each? 

12.  What  was  Jesus  doing  between  His  death  and  resurrection? 

13.  What  heresies  concerning  the  place  where  our  Lord's  soul 
went,  and  His  work  between  His  death  and  resurrection,  and  what 
the  scriptural  and  other  grounds  relied  on  to  support  them? 

14.  What  distinguished  advocates  of  these  theories? 

15.  State  at  length  the  author's  argument  as  to  what  Jesus  was 
doing  between  His  death  and  resurrection? 

16.  In  what  particulars  is  our  Lord  superior  to  the  material 
universe? 

17.  On  what  ground  do  men  of  science  reject  miracles? 

18.  Show  from  Genesis  the  process  of  the  established  order  of 
things,  and  in  one  remarkable  instance  this  reverse  of  this  process, 
and  its  restoration. 

19.  What  second  mutation,  according  to  this  letter,  awaits  the 
heavens  and  the  earth,  and  what  the  means  of  its  accomplishment? 

20.  Prove  from  Peter  in  a  letter  subsequent  to  this  how  men's 
reliance  on  the  continuity  of  the  order  of  nature  will  be  swept  away 
by  this  second  mutation. 

21.  Show  how  in  this  letter  of  Peter  to  the  same  people  addressed 
in  Hebrews,  he  identifies  this  letter  as  Paul's. 

22.  In  what  particulars  is  our  Lord  superior  to  O.  T.  prophets? 


XIX 

CHRIST'S  SUPERIORITY  OVER  ANGELS 
GOOD  AND  BAD 

Scripture:  Heb.  i :  i — 2: 18 

IN  the  first  chapter  on  the  exposition  of  the  Letter  to 
the  Hebrews,  we  considered  Christ  in  His  three  Son- 
ships,  showing  that  the  Son  of  God  by  eternal  subsist- 
ence, being  the  effulgence  of  God's  glory  and  the  express 
image  of  His  substance,  and  in  that  pre-existent  state 
created  the  universe  and  all  of  these  intelligences,  and  having 
created  them  He  upholds  them  by  His  providence.  Then 
we  considered  His  second  Sonship,  when  He  became  the 
Son  of  God  by  birth  of  the  Virgin  Mary  in  order  to  make 
purification  for  sins,  and  in  that  incarnate  state  He  did  make 
purification  for  sins.  That  in  His  third  Sonship  He  was  the 
Son  of  God  by  His  resurrection.  We  then  followed  His 
ascent  into  the  heavens,  in  His  disembodied  spirit,  presenting 
His  blood  as  the  basis  for  the  atonement  which  He  there 
made,  followed  by  His  exaltation  a  royal  priest  to  the  throne 
of  the  universe  and  His  session  there  ruling  and  interceding. 
We  then  considered  Christ's  superiority  over  the  universe, 
that  in  the  beginning  He  created  it,  and  in  His  unchangeable- 
ness  and  the  changeableness  of  the  universe. 

We  then  considered  Christ's  superiority  over  the  prophets 
of  the  Old  Testament.  They  did  give  us  a  revelation  as  far 
as  the  Old  Testament  goes,  but  it  was  a  fragmentary  and 
diverse  revelation.  But  the  revelation  He  gave  us  completes 
theirs,  and  completes  the  canon  of  the  scriptures,  and  so 
He  is  superior  to  all  the  prophets. 


COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

So  we  come  now  to  a  new  line  of  superiority :  His  supe- 
riority over  the  angels,  good  and  bad.  The  question  arises, 
Why  introduce  the  angels  in  this  discussion?  Because  the 
old  covenant  was  given  by  the  disposition  of  the  angels, 
and  inasmuch  as  the  object  of  this  letter  is  to  show  the 
superiority  of  the  new  covenant  over  the  old  covenant,  it 
is  necessary  to  show  that  Christ  is  superior  to  the  angels. 
That  accounts  for  the  introduction  of  the  angels  into  the 
discussion. 

Then  arises  our  second  question :  On  what  points  is  Christ 
superior  to  the  good  angels?  Evidently  He  is  superior  to 
them  in  His  pre-existence  as  the  image  of  God  and  the 
effulgence  of  His  glory,  because  that  was  before  there  were 
any  angels.  Then  He  is  superior  in  that  He  created  the 
angels  as  well  as  other  intelligences  of  the  universe ;  creator 
is  greater  than  creature. 

But  these  are  not  the  points  of  superiority  upon  which 
this  letter  principally  dwells.  It  is  His  superiority  in  His 
second  and  third  Sonship,  not  His  first,  that  is  emphasized. 
This  superiority  is  that  of  the  incarnate  man,  or  God-man, 
and  what  He  did  in  His  incarnation.  No  angel  ever  made 
expiation  of  sin.  It  was  impossible  that  an  angel  could 
make  an  expiation  for  the  sins  of  man.  But  Jesus,  whose 
deity  in  the  flesh  was  recognized  by  the  angels,  and  who 
was  worshiped  by  the  angels  in  His  humanity,  did  in  that 
humanity  by  sacrifice  of  himself  make  purification  for  the 
sins  of  the  world — for  the  sins  of  His  people.  And  our  text 
tells  us  that  because  He  made  purification  for  the  sins  of  the 
world  and  is  seated  on  the  right-hand  of  the  majesty  on 
high,  He  has  obtained  a  more  glorious  name  than  the  angels. 
For  a  little  season  in  His  second  sonship  He  was  lower  than 
the  angels,  but  in  that  second  Sonship,  having  expiated  the 
sins  of  the  world,  and  having  been  exalted  into  heaven.  He 
obtains  a  greater  name  than  any  angel  ever  had.  In  other 
words,  as  expressed  in  a  previous  letter   "The  name  that 


CHRIST  SUPERIOR  TO  ANGELS 

is  above  every  name,"  "King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords." 
High  above  all  principalities  and  powers,  He  received  that 
excellent  name. 

In  arguing  upon  that  name,  Paul  takes  up  the  beginning 
of  the  exaltation  of  Christ,  and  says,  "Unto  what  angel 
did  He  ever  say,  'Thou  art  my  son — this  day  have  I  begotten 
thee  ?'  "  referring  to  His  resurrection.  No  angel  is  the  Son 
of  God  in  that  sense.  And  then  He  says  again,  "When  He 
bringeth  again  His  only  begotten  Son  into  the  world,"  as 
He  does  at  the  resurrection  in  order  to  obtain  His  risen 
body,  "let  all  the  angels  of  God  worship  Him,"  that  is.  He 
is  the  object  of  angelic  worship  as  the  risen  Savior  of  men. 
He  carries  on  the  thought  further — that  He  is  not  only  risen, 
but  He  attains  to  the  state  above  the  angels  because  God 
said  to  Him,  "Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  forever  and  ever." 
He  never  said  that  to  an  angel.  And  on  that  throne  upon 
which  He  now  sits — not  the  throne  upon  which  He  sat 
before  He  was  manifested  and  became  a  man,  but  the  throne 
upon  which  the  risen  Jesus  sits  today — on  that  throne  He  is 
superior  to  all  angels.  And  Paul  quotes  Psalm  104:7: 
"And  of  the  angels  he  sayeth,  Who  maketh  His  angels  winds 
and  His  ministers  a  flame  of  fire :  but  of  the  Son  He  saith, 
Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  forever  and  ever;  and  the  sceptre 
of  uprightness  is  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom.  Thou  hast 
loved  righteousness  and  hated  iniquity."  That  is  the  next 
point  of  the  superiority. 

The  third  point  of  the  superiority  is  that,  being  so  exalted 
to  that  throne,  He  is  anointed  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above 
His  fellows.  Knox  said  that  when  he  died,  if  his  heart  were 
examined,  this  writing  would  be  found  on  it:  "Scotland." 
And  I  feel  that  stamped  on  my  innermost  being,  ineffaceably 
on  the  tablets  of  my  memory  forever,  are  two  pictures :  One 
is  Christ,  the  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief, 
the  saddest  man  that  ever  lived.  And  the  other  is  Christ 
anointed  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  His  fellows,  the 


224     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

gladdest  man  that  ever  lived,  as  it  is  presented  again  later 
in  this  book:  "Who  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him 
endured  the  cross,  despising  shame,  and  hath  sat  down  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God,"  Heb.  12:2.  This 
was  a  recompense  of  gladness  beyond  that  any  other  being 
in  this  world  will  enjoy.  In  Luke  15  we  have  some  beautiful 
illustrations  of  this  gladness  of  Christ : 

A  sheep  is  lost.  Whose  sheep?  The  Shepherd's.  Who 
goes  after  the  sheep  ?  The  Shepherd.  Who  finds  the  sheep  ? 
The  Shepherd  finds  it.  What  does  the  Shepherd  do  when 
He  finds  it?  He  rejoices  over  it.  Whose  is  the  greatest 
joy  over  the  finding  of  the  lost  sheep  ?  His  is  the  greatest  joy. 
When  it  says  there  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  over 
one  sinner  that  repenteth,  it  does  not  mean  that  the  angels 
were  glad,  but  that  there  was  joy  in  their  presence.  It  is 
the  Savior  that  is  glad — the  one  that  saved  the  sheep. 

Then  there  is  the  woman  who  lost  the  coin.  Whose  was 
it?  Hers.  Who  found  it?  She.  Which  was  the  greater 
joy,  hers  or  the  neighbors'  whom  she  called  to  share  it? 
It  was  hers.  She  called  in  her  friends  and  they  rejoiced 
with  her,  but  their  joy  was  not  equal  to  hers. 

In  the  last  parable,  the  lost  son,  whose  son  was  the 
prodigal?  That  old  father's.  Whose  was  the  joy  when 
that  prodigal  son  came  home?  It  was  the  father's  joy. 
When  it  is  said  that  Jesus  was  anointed  with  the  oil  of  glad- 
ness above  His  fellows  it  means  the  same  thing  as  what  is  said 
in  Isaiah  53 :  "He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  His  soul,  and 
shall  be  satisfied."  If  His  joy  be  so  great  over  one  sinner, 
who  can  measure  the  height,  and  depth,  and  breadth  of  the 
gladness  of  Jesus  Christ  when  that  great  multitude — that 
uncountable  number  out  of  every  nation  and  tribe  and  tongue 
— gets  safely  home  to  heaven  and  God?  We  are  glad  if  a 
sinner  is  converted  under  our  ministry,  but  we  are  not  as 
glad  as  Jesus  is.  I  have  no  doubt  the  angels  are  glad,  but 
they  cannot  have  the  joy  that  Jesus  has,  because  angels 


CHRIST  SUPERIOR  TO  ANGELS  225 

did  not  make  us,  angels  did  not  die  for  us,  and  angels  did 
not  make  atonement  for  us.  Let  us  never  forget  this  point 
of  superiority  of  Christ  over  angels.  As  Paul  elsewhere 
expresses  it :  "The  gospel  of  the  glory  of  the  happy  God," 
I  Tim.  i:  ii. 

The  superiority  is  evidenced  again  in  1:14:  "Are  they 
not  all  ministering  spirits  sent  forth  to  do  service  for  the 
sake  of  them  that  shall  inherit  salvation?"  Theirs  is  a 
subordination  in  service.  They  did  not  save  men,  but 
they  have  a  subordinate  service  of  ministering  to  the 
saved. 

The  next  point  is  a  very  fine  one.  The  law  was  given 
by  the  disposition  of  the  angels,  and  it  had  very  high  penal 
sanctions.  But  the  gospel  was  given  by  Jesus  Christ,  and 
it  has  a  higher  penal  sanction;  the  superiority  is  in  the 
higher  penal  sanction.  Commencing  at  chapter  2 :  "There- 
fore we  ought  to  give  the  more  earnest  heed  to  the  things 
that  were  heard,  lest  haply  we  drift  away  from  them.  For 
if  the  word  spoken  through  angels  proved  steadfast,  and 
every  transgression  and  disobedience  received  a  just  recom- 
pense of  reward,  how  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect  so  great 
a  salvation?  which  having  at  first  been  spoken  through  the 
Lord,  was  confirmed  unto  us  by  them  that  heard."  The 
point  is  that  the  punishment  for  rejecting  the  gospel  is  far 
beyond  the  punishment  for  rejecting  the  law.  When  we 
get  to  chapter  10  the  thought  is  brought  out  this  way :  "For 
if  we  sin  wilfully  after  that  we  have  received  the  knowledge 
of  the  truth,  there  remaineth  no  more  a  sacrifice  for  sins, 
but  a  certain  fearful  expectation  of  judgment,  and  a  fierce- 
ness of  fire  which  shall  devour  the  adversaries.  A  man 
that  hath  set  at  nought  Moses'  law  dieth  without  compas- 
sion on  the  word  of  two  or  three  witnesses :  of  how  much 
sorer  punishment,  think  ye,  shall  he  be  judged  worthy  who 
hath  trodden  under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  hath  counted 
the  blood  of  the  covenant  wherewith  he  was  sanctified  an 


ne     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

unholy  thing,  and  hath  done  despite  unto  the  Spirit  of 
grace?"  First,  he  has  trampled  under  foot  the  Son  of  God. 
This  is  sin  against  the  Father,  and  is  pardonable.  Second, 
he  has  counted  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant  an 
unholy  thing.  That  is  sin  against  the  Son,  and  is  pardon- 
able. Third,  he  has  shown  despite  unto  the  Spirit  of  grace. 
That  is  sin  against  the  Holy  Spirit  and  hath  never  forgive- 
ness. By  so  much  as  the  light  under  the  gospel  is  superior 
to  the  light  under  the  law,  by  that  much  is  the  responsibility 
greater  and  the  penalty  severer.  Why  did  Jesus  say:  "It 
shall  be  more  tolerable  in  the  day  of  judgment  for  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah  than  for  the  cities  around  the  Sea  of  Galilee?" 
Because  the  cities  around  the  Sea  of  Galilee  heard  the  gospel 
from  the  lips  of  Jesus,  and  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  did  not 
hear  that.  In  the  final  judgment  men  are  judged  according 
to  the  light  they  have  had.  It  is  on  that  account  that  the 
man  who  rejects  Christ  will  be  condemned  in  the  final  judg- 
ment by  the  men  that  repented  at  the  teachings  of  a  prophet 
— an  unwilling  prophet — a  prophet  who  preferred  to  see 
them  swept  away,  but  Jesus  is  greater  than  Jonah.  Thus 
at  the  last  great  day  the  Ninevites  shall  condemn  those  who 
refused  the  gospel.  So  also  the  queen  of  Sheba,  who  came 
from  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  to  hear  the  derived 
wisdom  of  Solomon,  shall  condemn  those  people  who  re- 
jected the  gospel — rejected  the  original  and  underived  wis- 
dom of  the  greater  than  Solomon,  Matt.  12 :  41,  42. 

The  next  point  of  superiority  is  that  the  gospel  is  better 
accredited  than  the  law  was  accredited.  That  is  set  forth 
in  this  passage:  "Was  confirmed  unto  us  by  them  that 
heard;  God  also  bearing  witness  with  them,  both  by  signs 
and  wonders,  and  by  manifold  powers,  and  by  gifts  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  according  to  His  own  will."  All  we  have  to 
do  in  order  to  get  at  this  point  is  to  contrast  the  miraculous 
prodigies  at  the  giving  of  the  law  on  Mount  Sinai  with  the 
miraculous  confirmation  of  the  gospel  when  the  church  was 


CHRIST  SUPERIOR  TO  ANGELS  2^7 

baptized  in  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  There 
were  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit ;  there  was  the  power  to  speak 
with  tongues,  to  heal  the  sick,  to  raise  the  dead.  By  that 
much  is  Christ  superior  to  angels. 

The  next  point  of  His  superiority  is  presented  in  2 :  5  in 
these  words :  "For  not  unto  angels  did  He  subject  the  world 
to  come,  whereof  we  speak.  But  one  hath  somewhere 
testified,  saying,  What  is  man  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him, 
or  the  Son  of  man,  that  thou  visitest  Him?  Thou  madest 
Him  a  little  lower  than  the  angels;  thou  crownedst  Him 
with  glory  and  honor,  and  didst  set  Him  over  the  works  of 
thine  hands:  thou  didst  put  all  things  in  subjection  under 
His  feet."  That  says  that  Jesus,  in  His  humanity,  for  a 
little  season  lower  than  the  angels  because  of  the  work 
that  He  did,  will  have  subjected  to  Him  the  world  to  come. 
That  never  was  subjected  to  the  angels.  And  what  is  the 
world  to  come?  It  is  the  world  after  the  general  judgment. 
Then  will  be  fulfilled  what  is  said  in  Psalm  8.  Christ,  as 
the  Second  Adam,  enters  into  the  possession  of  all  the 
authority  and  dominion  conferred  upon  the  first  Adam.  The 
first  Adam  in  his  temptation  lost  all  in  a  garden,  turning  it 
into  a  desert.  Christ,  resisting  temptation  in  a  desert,  con- 
verted it  into  a  garden. 

Paul  goes  on  to  show  that  we  do  not  yet  see  all  things 
subjected  to  Him.  But  we  do  see  this  much — that  Jesus 
Christ,  who  in  His  flesh  tasted  death  for  every  man,  has 
been  set  upon  the  throne  of  authority  in  heaven  and  is  wait- 
ing until  that  full  promise  shall  be  carried  out,  that  all  things 
shall  be  subjected  unto  Him,  as  it  is  expressed  in  I  Cor.  15 : 
"He  must  reign  until  all  His  enemies  are  put  under  His 
feet."  That  will  put  us  into  the  world  to  come,  and  the  last 
enemy  that  shall  be  destroyed  is  death.  Death  is  not  de- 
stroyed yet.  Christ  is  up  there  reigning  and  bringing  about 
the  subjection  of  the  world  to  come.  In  Psa.  1 10  we  have 
this :   "The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord,  Sit  thou  at  my  right 


228     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

hand  until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool."  When  every 
enemy  is  put  under  the  foot  of  Christ,  all  of  our  enemies  are 
put  under  our  feet,  for  Christ  does  not  do  that  simply  for 
himself ;  He  does  it  for  humanity ;  He  does  it  that  all  who 
are  under  Him  may  sit  down  with  Him  on  His  throne,  and 
every  enemy  is  to  be  put  under  their  feet. 

And  that  leads  us  to  the  next  point  of  superiority.  Com- 
mence at  verse  lo:  "For  it  became  Him  for  whom  all 
things,  and  through  whom  all  things,  in  bringing  many  sons 
unto  glory,  to  make  the  author  of  their  salvation  perfect 
through  suffering.  For  both  He  that  sanctifieth  and  they 
who  are  sanctified,  are  all  of  one,  for  which  cause  He  is 
not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren."  The  angels  were  not 
His  brethren,  but  more  scripture  is  quoted  in  confirmation 
of  it:  "I  will  declare  thy  name  unto  my  brethren,  in  the 
midst  of  the  church  will  I  sing  praise  unto  thee."  "I  will 
not  sit  off  and  sing  my  song  by  myself,  but  I  will  sing  it  in 
the  congregation,"  is  the  thought. 

Now  comes  a  very  important  question — to  know  when 
He  did  declare  His  name  among  the  brethren,  or  sing  among 
the  brethren.  The  only  place  I  know  of  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment so  far  is  at  the  Lord's  Supper,  where  with  His  church 
memorializing  His  death  for  the  sins  of  His  people ;  at  the 
conclusion  of  that  service  "they  sang  a  hymn  and  went  out." 
The  hymn  that  they  sang  is  what  is  called  in  the  Psalms  the 
great  Hallel,  or  Hallelujah  song.  We  find  in  the  book  of 
Psalms  certain  ones  called  Hallelujah  songs.  They  were 
appointed  to  be  sung  at  the  festival  of  the  Passover,  this 
being  the  type  of  Christ  causing  the  angel  of  death  to  pass 
over  us.  The  Jews  had  sung  that  Hallel  for  ages  at  the 
annual  Paschal .  festival.  So  we  know  the  hymn  He  sang 
when  they  went  out  from  the  Lord's  Supper. 

And  that  proves  that  there  was  a  church  in  existence  then. 
In  the  church  He  sang. 

The  great  fulfillment,  however,  will  be  when  all  of  the 


CHRIST  SUPERIOR  TO  ANGELS  229 

redeemed  are  gathered  together,  as  described  in  Revela- 
tion 19.  Then  is  when  they  sing  in  the  great  congregation, 
the  glory  church:  "Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  The  Lord  God 
Omnipotent  reigneth.  Let  the  earth  rejoice.  Hallelujah! 
Hallelujah !"  That  is  the  final  fulfillment.  The  one  in  the 
church-nucleus  at  the  Lord's  Supper  was  a  foretaste  of  it — • 
a  prefiguring  of  the  one  in  the  glory-church.  In  that  world 
to  come,  presented  to  us  in  Revelation  21  and  22^  after  the 
last  enemy  is  destroyed — our  enemy,  Christ's  enemy — ^that 
world  is  not  subjected  to  the  angels,  but  we  have  a  glorious 
picture  of  the  New  Jerusalem  coming  down  out  of  the  heav- 
ens from  God.  Oh !  the  light  of  it,  the  joy  of  it !  That  is 
the  world  to  come.  But  the  thought  is  even  finer  than  that. 
He  has  superiority  over  the  angels  not  merely  because  the 
world  to  come  is  subjected  to  Him  and  to  His  people,  but 
because  He  gets  nearer  to  us  experimentally  than  an  angel. 
Angels  are  fellow-servants,  but  we  are  brethren  of  Christ. 
The  angels  minister  to  us,  but  they  have  not  the  sympa- 
thetic touch,  that  is,  Gabriel  is  not  my  brother — he  is  my 
fellow-servant,  but  not  my  brother.  Christ  is  my  brother, 
and  that  leads  us  to  the  last  point  of  superiority  as  expressed 
in  the  end  of  that  chapter,  where  he  says,  "wherefore  it 
behooved  Him  in  all  things  to  be  made  like  unto  His  breth- 
ren, that  He  might  be  a  merciful  and  faithful  High  Priest 
in  things  pertaining  to  God,  to  make  reconciliation  for  the 
sins  of  the  people.  For  in  that  He  himself  hath  suffered, 
being  tempted,  He  is  able  to  succor  them  that  are  tempted." 
The  angels  cannot  get  close  to  you  like  that;  they  are  not 
priests;  they  do  not  pass  through  that  suffering  and  that 
temptation  as  He  did ;  He  took  our  place.  We  are  born  of 
woman ;  so  was  He.  We  have  the  helplessness  of  childhood ; 
so  had  He.  We  confront  hunger,  cold,  contradiction  of 
sinners ;  so  did  He.  And  because  He  had  these  expenences 
that  no  angel  ever  did  have.  He  can  help  us  where  no  angel 
can.    I  have  presented  twelve  special  points  of  superiority 


230     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

over  angels,  and  I  am  not  through  yet,  because  they  are  the 
points  of  superiority  over  the  good  angels. 

We  come  now  to  consider  His  superiority  over  the  bad 
angels,  and  let  us  see  what  they  are:  First,  He  success- 
fully resisted  all  of  Satan's  temptations,  principally  in  the 
wilderness  and  in  Gethsemane — two  capital  points  at  the 
beginning  and  ending  of  His  earthly  life.  He  successfully 
resisted  Satan  at  the  threshold  of  His  public  life.  The  first 
Adam  did  not.  He  fell.  He  was  tempted  in  the  Garden 
and  turned  it  into  a  desert ;  Christ  was  tempted  in  a  desert 
and  turned  it  into  a  garden. 

The  second  point  is  His  victory  over  Satan  on  the  cross. 
Chapter  2 :  14  reads :  "Since  then  as  the  children  are  par- 
takers of  flesh  and  blood,  He  also  himself,  in  like  manner, 
partook  of  the  same ;  that  in  death  He  might  bring  to  naught 
him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil."  It  was 
His  mission  to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil.  In  these  two 
conflicts  He  defeated  Satan.  In  the  three  hours  of  darkness 
on  the  cross  when  God  forsook  Him,  and  Satan  and  all  of 
his  demons  shut  out  every  light  in  the  heavens,  hovered 
around  Him  and  fought  Him  to  the  death — there  He  ob- 
tained His  final  superiority  over  Satan.  We  learned  in  the 
Letter  to  the  Colossians  that  He  triumphed  over  the  princi- 
palities of  power  on  the  cross  and  made  a  show  of  them 
openly. 

The  imagery  is  that  of  a  Roman  general  returning  from  a 
successful  war  over  a  national  enemy  of  the  Roman  Empire 
and  accorded  a  triumph  therefor.  His  head  crowned  with 
laurels,  in  a  snow-white  chariot,  drawn  by  snow-white  horses, 
he  comes  to  receive  his  crown.  There  is  paraded  before 
him  the  trophies  that  he  won  in  the  war — the  jewels,  the 
gold,  the  fine  raiment.  There  come  after,  tied  to  his  chariot 
wheels,  the  princes  and  nobles  of  that  conquered  land.  And 
so  he  makes  a  show  of  them  openly. 

Moreover,  He  delivers  all  Satan's  captives — strips  him 


CHRIST  SUPERIOR  TO  ANGELS  231 

of  all  his  spoils.  The  idea  of  His  superiority  advances  in 
the  1 6th  verse:  "For  verily  not  unto  angels  doth  He  give 
help,  but  He  giveth  help  to  the  seed  of  Abraham."  Our 
common  version  disguises  that  and  says :  "He  took  not  on 
Him  the  nature  of  angels."  That  is  not  the  thought.  His 
superiority  over  the  bad  angels  is  asserted  in  His  excluding 
them  from  participation  in  salvation.  He  did  not  come  down 
to  this  earth  to  save  the  devil  and  his  demons — He  came  to 
save  the  spiritual  seed  of  Abraham — and  the  devils  are  ex- 
cluded from  any  participation  in  that  salvation.  Here  comes 
up  the  question,  "Does  God  love  a  sinner  in  hell  ?"  the  point 
of  which  is  that  wherever  God  loves.  He  loves  remedially — 
His  love  is  active.  He  does  not  love  a  fallen  angel.  "For 
verily  not  to  angels  doth  He  give  help."  No  part  of  salva- 
tion for  any  fallen  angel.  So  when  sinners  finally  reject 
Him  they  go  to  a  place  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels 
and  share  their  doom.  If  we  strip  His  love  of  remedial 
activity,  we  take  away  the  love  itself. 

The  last  thought  of  His  superiority  over  the  angels  is  this 
(This  book  does  not  present  it,  but  I  bring  it  in  to  make  the 
arguments  complete)  :  Not  only  does  He  judge  these  fallen 
angels  at  the  last  great  day,  but  He  causes  His  people  to 
judge  them:  "Know  ye  not  that  the  saints  shall  judge 
angels?"  They  are  those  who  kept  not  their  first  estate, 
but  are  cast  down  in  chains  of  darkness  and  are  awaiting 
the  last  great  day  of  judgment. 

So  over  bad  angels  we  have  found  these  points:  First, 
His  successful  resisting  of  Satan's  temptation.  Second,  His 
victory  over  Satan  and  his  demons  on  the  cross.  Third,  the 
deliverance  of  the  prey  that  is  in  the  hands  of  Satan,  who 
has  to  turn  loose  all  those  that  he  had  reigned  over,  for 
Christ  plucks  them  out  of  his  hand.  Fourth,  His  exclusion 
of  them  from  participation  in  salvation.  Fifth,  his  final 
judgment  of  them  and  causing  His  people  to  judge  them. 


g32     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 


QUESTIONS 

1.  Why  introduce  the  angels  in  this  discussion? 

2.  What  two  points  of  superiority  of  our  Lord  over  the  angels 
not  especially  discussed  in  Hebrews  ? 

3.  What  the  particulars  of  our  Lord's  superiority  over  the  good 
angels  as  discussed  in  this  book?     (See  analysis.) 

4.  What  the  particulars  of  our  Lord's  superiority  over  the  bad 
angels?    (See  analysis.) 

5.  Prove  that  Jesus  in  His  threefold  Sonship  was  worshiped  by 
the  angels. 

6.  Show  His  superiority  in  His  expiation  of  sin. 

7.  Show  His  superiority  in  His  inheritance. 

8.  Show  His  superiority  in  His  enthronement. 

9.  Expound  our  Lord's  anointing  with  the  oil  of  gladness,  and 
illustrate  by  three  parables  in  Luke  15. 

10.  Show  His  superiority  in  their  subordination  of  service. 

11.  Show  it  in  His  confirmation  of  the  angels. 

12.  Show  it  in  His  gospel  compared  with  the  law. 

13.  What  two  passages  in  this  letter  exhibit  the  higher  order  of 
the  penal  sanctions  of  the  new  covenant,  and  what  the  application 
of  the  second  to  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Spirit? 

14.  Show  this  superiority  in  the  fact  that  the  gospel  is  better 
accredited  than  the  law. 

15.  Show  it  in  His  sympathetic  priesthood. 

16.  Show  it  in  His  becoming  a  brother  to  them  whom  the  angels 
only  serve. 

17.  Show  His  superiority  over  bad  angels  in  His  temptations. 

18.  Show  it  in  His  victory  on  the  cross. 

19.  Show  it  in  His  delivering  Satan's  victims. 

20.  Show  it  in  His  final  judgment  of  them. 

21.  What  the  Greek  word  for  "congregation"  in  2 :  12,  when  was 
this  prophecy  first  fulfilled,  when  the  last  and  larger  fulfillment, 
what  hymn  was  sung  at  the  first  fulfillment,  and  what  the  bearing 
of  the  first  fulfillment  on  the  institution  of  the  church  in  Christ's 
life-time  on  earth? 

22.  What  the  difference  in  meaning  between  the  common  ver- 
sion rendering  of  2 :  16  and  the  revision,  and  what  the  bearing  on 
the  question,  "Does  God  love  a  sinner  in  hell  ?" 

23.  What  the  meaning  of  "world  to  come"  in  2 : 5  ? 


XX 


CHRIST  GREATER  THAN  MOSES  AND  JOSHUA, 

AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH  GREATER 

THAN  THE  JEWISH  SABBATH 

Scriptures:  Heb.  3  and  4 

THIS  discussion  commences  at  chapter  3.  The  "where- 
fore" refers  to  statements  made  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  and  particularly  to  the  latter  part  of  chap- 
ter 2,  which  opens  the  discussion  of  Christ's  priesthood,  a 
matter  that  will  again  be  taken  up  at  length.  It  was  intro- 
duced there  simply  in  connection  with  the  argument  showing 
the  superiority  over  angels. 

"Wherefore,  holy  brethren,  partakers  of  a  heavenly  call- 
ing," that  is,  who  have  been  called  from  heaven  to  the  world 
to  come.  It  may  be  called  heavenly  because  the  call  issues 
from  heaven,  and  because  the  call  is  to  heaven.  In  view  of 
what  has  been  said,  "consider  the  Apostle  and  High  Priest." 
An  apostle  is  one  sent  to  bear  witness  to  the  truth  and  to 
teach  the  truth,  as  expressed  in  chapter  i — "hath  in  these 
last  days  spoken  unto  us  through  His  Son."  Jesus  was  the 
one  sent  to  be  the  prophet.  "Consider  the  Apostle  and  High 
Priest  of  our  confession,  even  Jesus."  That  is  to  say,  when 
one  makes  a  profession  of  religion,  he  makes  an  open  con- 
fession before  witnesses  that  Christ  is  his  prophet,  his  sacri- 
fice, his  priest,  his  judge  and  his  king.  Paul  is  making  an 
appeal  to  that  first  ceremonial  qualification  of  church  en- 
trance— confession  first,  then  baptism.  Before  you  were 
received  into  the  church  you  made  a  public  profession  or 

£3S 


234     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

confession  of  Christ  as  your  Savior.  So  see  what  you  are 
to  consider — even  Jesus. 

What  are  we  to  consider  about  Him?  "He  was  faithful 
to  Him  that  appointed  Him,  as  also  was  Moses  in  all  his 
house."  He  is  preparing  to  institute  another  comparison. 
These  Jews  were  about  to  abandon  Christianity  and  go 
back  to  Judaism,  and  this  whole  letter  is  to  show  the  folly 
of  such  a  course.  One  reason  for  their  going  back  was  their 
undue  magnifying  of  Moses.  In  one  particular  Christ  and 
Moses  are  alike — they  were  both  faithful  to  the  One  who 
appointed  them. 

But  we  come  to  a  point  of  difference :  "For  He  hath  been 
counted  worthy  of  more  glory  than  Moses,  by  so  much  as 
He  that  built  the  house  hath  more  honor  than  the  house." 
That  is  the  first  point  of  distinction  between  Christ  and 
Moses.  Moses  is  a  part  of  the  house,  but  Christ  built  the 
whole  house.  The  house  he  is  talking  about  is  the  antitype 
of  the  tabernacle — the  true  church,  the  church  of  which 
every  converted  man  in  the  world  from  the  beginning  of 
time  to  the  end  of  time  will  be  a  member.  That  is  the 
house  that  Jesus  is  building.  "He  is  counted  worthy  of  more 
glory  than  Moses  by  so  much  as  He  that  built  the  house 
hath  more  honor  than  the  house,  for  every  house  is  builded 
by  some  one,  but  He  that  built  all  things  is  God."  Again, 
"Moses  indeed  was  faithful  in  all  his  house  as  a  servant, 
for  a  testimony  of  those  things  which  were  afterward  to  be 
spoken,  but  Christ  is  a  Son  over  His  house."  That  is  the 
second  point  of  distinction — Moses  was  only  a  servant  in 
the  house,  while  Christ  was  a  Son  over  the  house. 

Already  in  Colossians  and  Ephesians  we  have  pointed  out 
how  Christ  was  head  over  all  things  to  the  church,  whether 
as  an  institution,  a  particular  church,  or  the  church  in  glory. 
Christ  is  over  even  the  typical  shadows  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. But  to  show  you  what  house  He  has  in  mind  He 
says !  "Whose  house  are  we."    This  accords  with  a  previous 


CHRIST  GREATER  THAN  MOSES         265 

statement  to  the  Corinthians :  "Ye  are  God's  building ;"  "ye 
are  the  Temple  of  God" — the  spiritual  house  which  Christ 
built.  So  here :  "Whose  house  are  we,  if  we  hold  fast  our 
boldness  and  the  glorifying  of  our  hope  firm  unto  the  end." 

That  is  to  say,  whosoever  does  not  presevere  unto  the  end 
is  not  God's. 

"He  that  overcometh  is  heir  to  all  things."  All  through 
this  epistle  he  discusses  religion  in  two  distinct  views :  First, 
of  profession;  second,  of  reality.  Only  those  who  possess 
the  internal  reality  really  belong  to  Christ,  and  are  a  part  of 
this  house.  "Whose  house  are  we,  if  we  hold  fast  our  bold- 
ness and  the  glorying  of  our  hope  firm  unto  the  end." 

This  letter  uniformly  presents  the  doctrine  of  the  final 
perseverance  of  the  saints,  not  from  the  starting  point  in 
profession,  hut  in  the  outcome.  He  only  is  a  true  Christian 
who  is  faithful  unto  death. 

The  earthly  church  consists  of  professors.  Whether  pro- 
fession was  true  or  false  is  determined  by  the  issue.  He 
illustrates  by  quoting  that  remarkable  Psalm  of  David — the 
95th:  "Today,  if  ye  shall  hear  His  voice,  harden  not  your 
hearts,  as  in  the  provocation,  like  as  in  the  day  of  the  trial  in 
the  wilderness,  where  your  fathers  tried  me  by  proving  me, 
and  saw  my  works  forty  years ;  wherefore,  I  was  displeased 
with  this  generation,  and  said,  They  do  always  err  in  their 
hearts :  But  they  did  not  know  my  ways ;  as  I  sware  in  my 
wrath,  they  shall  not  enter  into  my  rest." 

It  is  very  important  to  notice  the  significance  of  this  pas- 
sage. These  two  thoughts  in  it  are:  First,  God  had  an 
ostensible  people  whom  He  led  out  of  Egypt  toward  a  country 
ahead  of  them — a  place  promised  to  the  believing  and  faith- 
ful as  a  land  of  rest.  The  majority  of  them  never  got  there — • 
they  were  always  erring  in  their  hearts,  and  did  not  know 
God's  way.  They  did  not  have  the  true  faith,  and  because 
they  did  not  they  were  destroyed  on  the  way. 

The  second  thought  is :  That  as  were  the  fathers  so  were 


g36     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

the  descendants  in  David's  day,  therefore  the  Psalmist  said 
to  them:  "Today,  if  ye  hear  His  voice,  harden  not  your 
hearts  with  unbelief,  as  your  fathers  did  when  they  pro- 
voked God  in  the  wilderness."  This  whole  book  shows  that 
whoever  failed  in  getting  the  good  rest,  failed  from  lack  of 
faith.  They  did  not  have  a  faith  that  would  stick.  It  was 
a  temporary  faith,  which  did  not  take  hold  of  the  power  of 
the  world  to  come. 

We  may  readily  foresee  Paul's  application:  "You  pro- 
fessing Hebrews,  I  call  your  attention  to  the  reason  your 
fathers  failed  in  the  wilderness  and  also  their  descendants 
in  David's  time;  they  professed  outwardly,  but  apostatized 
because  they  were  without  true,  persistent  faith  in  God. 
Like  them,  you  have  professed,  but  it  seems  that  some  of 
you  will  fall  short  through  unbelief."  The  church  on  earth 
cannot  see  and  judge  the  heart.  They  receive  members  on 
credible  profession. 

Hence  the  exhortation :  "Take  heed,  brethren,  lest  haply 
there  shall  be  in  any  one  of  you  an  evil  heart  of  unbeHef 
in  falling  away  from  the  living  God :  but  exhort  one  another 
day  by  day  so  long  as  it  is  called  today."  That  is  to  say, 
there  comes  a  time  in  every  man's  life  when  his  opportu- 
nities cease.  With  most  people  that  time  is  at  death,  but 
with  those  who  happen  to  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  it 
ceases  before  death.  Jesus  had  that  thought  in  His  mind 
when,  weeping  over  Jerusalem,  He  said:  "Oh,  if  thou  hadst 
known  the  day  of  thy  visitation !" 

When  a  man  is  in  doubt  as  to  his  status — and  sometimes 
good  people  do  doubt  their  status  in  the  sight  of  God — ^you 
may  rest  assured  that  the  status  is  not  determined  by  their 
doubt  or  confidence.  You  may  be  so  confident  that  never 
a  shadow  of  doubt  rolls  across  your  mind,  or  you  may  be 
so  far  gone  that,  like  the  Laodiceans,  there  is  never  a  sense 
of  need.  That  is  false  confidence.  Or  you  may  be  appre- 
hensive when  there  is  no  need  to  be  so.    He  calls  attention 


CHRIST  GREATER  THAN  MOSES         237 

to  this :  "Lest  any  one  of  you  be  hardened  by  the  deceitful- 
ness  of  sin."  Sin  is  exceedingly  deceitful,  and  whenever  a 
man  imagines  that  he  is  exempt  from  being  imposed  upon 
by  sin  he  is  apt  to  get  into  trouble.  For  instance,  sin  will 
tell  a  man :  "You  are  a  little  out  of  the  way,  but  not  much — 
you  can  get  back  easily.  I  only  ask  you  to  step  over  here 
and  walk  in  the  shade  instead  of  upon  the  hard,  hot  high- 
way." He  is  beguiled  and  deceived — ^beguiled  until  finally 
his  heart  is  hardened,  and  he  is  insensible  to  warning 
impression.    Let  us  get  that  thought  clearly  before  us. 

A  lady  once  determined  to  get  up  early  in  the  morning, 
and  so  bought  an  alarm  clock.  She  set  the  alarm  for  exactly 
6  o'clock,  and  when  it  rang  she  got  up.  The  next  time  when 
she  heard  it  ring  she  waited  a  little  while  before  getting  up. 
The  next  time  she  waited  a  little  longer,  and  while  waiting 
she  fell  asleep.    After  that  it  never  disturbed  her. 

Whoever  disregards  an  alarm  soon  quits  hearing  it. 

If  we  go  toward  a  light  it  gets  brighter ;  if  we  go  from  it, 
it  gets  feebler.  If  we  go  tQward  a  fire,  we  get  more  and 
more  of  its  heat,  while  if  we  go  away  from  it,  we  lose  the 
power  of  its  heat.  Sin  blunts  the  conscience.  Take  Nero, 
for  instance.  When  a  young  man  he  would  weep  if  he 
stepped  on  a  worm  and  crushed  it  unthoughtedly,  but  after 
continual  indulgence  in  sin  and  crime  he  could  dance  and 
make  music  over  his  mother  whom  he  had  murdered,  and 
could  actually  enjoy  driving  between  parallel  lines  of  burn- 
ing Christians.  That  is  what  is  meant  by  hardening  the 
heart.  "Take  heed,  lest  through  the  deceitfulness  of  sin, 
you  shall  be  hardened  in  unbelief."  Their  unbelief  was 
arising  largely  from  the  fact  that  Christ  did  not  come  when 
they  thought  He  ought  to  come.  It  had  been  preached  to 
them  that  He  was  coming,  and  they  had  fixed  dates  for  His 
coming,  but  as  date  after  date  failed,  they  began  to  disbelieve 
the  whole  thing. 

"We  become  partakers  of  Christ  if  we  hold  fast  our 


238     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

boldness  and  the  glory  of  our  hope  firm  unto  the  end." 
There  is  your  solution.  You  want  to  know  whether  you 
are  a  partaker  of  Christ.  You  are  if  you  hold  fast  to  the 
end.  If  before  you  get  to  the  end  you  turn  loose  and  quit, 
you  are  not  a  partaker  of  Christ.  I  repeat  the  old  proverb : 
"When  you  see  a  star  fall  you  may  know  it  is  not  a  star." 
That  expresses  the  thought  exactly.  Stars  do  not  fall. 
Meteors  fall,  and  they  look  like  stars,  but  if  one  falls  it  is 
not  a  star.  We  are  partakers  of  Christ  if  we  hold  fast  to 
the  end. 

He  repeats  David's  exhortation,  and  he  uses  it  a  great  deal 
more  before  he  gets  through.  "While  it  is  said.  Today  if 
ye  shall  hear  His  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts,  as  in  the 
provocation.  That  fits  this  case  just  as  well  as  the  people 
of  David's  time,  or  the  people  in  the  wilderness.  Some, 
through  lack  of  true  faith — through  unbelief — did  not  get 
there,  and  it  will  be  so  in  your  case."  "For  who,  when  they 
heard,  did  provoke?  Did  not  all  they  that  came  out  of 
Egypt  by  Moses  ?  And  with  whom  was  he  displeased  forty 
years  ?  Was  it  not  with  them  that  sinned,  whose  bodies  fell 
in  the  wilderness  ?  And  to  whom  sware  he  that  they  should 
not  enter  the  rest,  but  to  them  that  were  disobedient?  And 
we  see  that  they  were  not  able  to  enter  in  because  of  their 
unbelief."  Moses  had  charge  of  that  crowd.  "Let  us  fear, 
therefore,  lest  haply  a  promise  being  left  of  entering  into  the 
rest,  any  one  of  you  should  seem  to  have  come  short  of  it. 
For  indeed  we  have  had  good  tidings  preached  unto  us, 
even  as  also  they:  but  the  word  of  hearing  did  not  profit 
them,  because  it  was  not  united  by  faith  with  them  that 
heard.  For  we  who  have  believed  do  enter  into  that  rest : 
even  as  He  hath  said.  As  I  sware  in  my  wrath  they  shall 
not  enter  into  my  rest,  although  the  works  were  finished  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world."  There  we  see  the  point  of 
his  exhortation.  Never  from  the  beginning  of  this  letter 
until  the  emd  does  he  vary  from  this  thought — that  final 


CHRIST  GREATER  THAN  MOSES         239 

apostasy  is  decisive  proof  that  they  were  never  Christians. 
This  brings  us  to  a  new  item  in  the  analysis : 

CHRIST   SUPERIOR  TO   JOSHUA 

As  Christ  is  superior  to  angels  and  Moses,  so  He  is  supe- 
rior to  Joshua.  Joshua  indeed  led  the  people  into  the  earthly 
promised  land,  but  the  conquest  was  not  complete.  Through 
unbelief  they  left  much  territory  in  the  hands  of  their  ene- 
mies, which  plagued  them  for  generations,  and  ultimately 
brought  about  their  loss  of  the  whole  land,  as  Moses  had 
foreshown.  Joshua  indeed  secured  for  the  people  a  rest  at 
the  end  of  his  wars  (Josh,  ii :  2^),  but  the  rest  was  not  the 
true  rest.  It  was  only  temporary,  as  the  dark  period  of  the 
Judges  shows.  So  that  in  summing  up  the  work  of  Joshua, 
great  as  it  was,  we  find  these  defects : 

1.  It  led  to  an  earthly  Canaan. 

2.  This  Canaan  was  not  all  conquered. 

3.  The  rest  attained  was  only  temporary. 

But  our  Lord,  the  Captain  of  our  Salvation,  leads  to  a 
heavenly  Canaan.  His  conquest  is  complete.  His  rest  is 
glorious  and  eternal.  In  this  connection,  the  author  passes 
to  a  new  thought — a  comparison  of  memorials,  which  brings 
us  to  consider  another  item  of  the  analysis : 

THE   SABBATH-KEEPING   OF  THE   NEW    COVENANT 

The  whole  matter  is  found  in  4 : 4- 11.  The  interpretation 
is  confessedly  difficult,  and  the  best  of  scholars  differ  widely 
as  to  the  import.  The  reader  will  understand  that  the  views 
now  presented  are  not  urged  dogmatically,  but  are  offered 
for  fair  consideration  along  with  variant  views.  Take  them 
at  their  intrinsic  value  and  form  your  own  judgment.  First 
of  all,  read  the  whole  passage  carefully  and  particularly, 
and  note  the  following  words  in  the  original : 

I.  The  word  "rest" — Greek,  katapausis,  at  3 :  11,  18;  4:1, 
3>8, 10,  II. 


^40     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

2.  "The  seventh  day" — Greek,  hehdome,  4 : 4. 

3.  "Another  day" — Greek,  alia  hemera,  4 :  8. 

4.  "Sabbath-keeping" — Greek,  Sabbatismos,  4 : 9. 

The  difficulty  of  interpretation  has  resulted  from  three 
causes : 

1.  A  failure  to  note  the  contrast  between  the  "seventh  day" 
in  verse  4,  and  "another  day"  in  verse  8. 

2.  In  translating  Sabbatismos  in  verse  9  as  if  it  were 
katapausis.  Uniformly  in  all  the  context  when  the  apostle 
means  "the  rest"  in  any  sense  he  uses  the  katapausis.  The 
change  to  Sabbatismos  is  inexplicable  if  he  means  the  same 
thing.  But  Sabbatismos  is  a  verbal  noun,  and  means  "the 
keeping  of  a  Sabbath,"  and  so  explains  the  contrast  between 
"the  seventh  day,"  as  appointed  of  old,  and  "another  day" 
foretold  in  the  prophetic  Psalm. 

3.  In  arbitrarily  referring  the  pronouns,  "0/*  autou  and 
autos  in  verse  10  to  the  Christian,  instead  of  to  Christ  as  the 
true  antecedent. 

In  the  deliberate  judgment  of  the  author  there  is  no  justi- 
fication for  any  one  of  those  three  things.  The  idea  of  the 
context  is : 

1.  God  rested  after  creating  the  world,  and  appointed  the 
seventh  day  to  be  kept  in  commemoration. 

2.  The  prophets  foretold  "another  day"  instead  of  the 
seventh,  to  commemorate  a  greater  rest,  following  a  greater 
work  than  creation. 

3.  Into  this  greater  rest  Joshua  never  led  the  Jewish 
people. 

4.  But  our  Lord,  having  finished  the  work  of  redemption 
on  the  cross.  He  himself  rested  from  the  work  on  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  as  God  had  done  from  His  own  on  the 
seventh. 

5.  To  this  cross  He  nailed  the  whole  typical  Sabbatic  cycle, 
taking  it  away,  Hos.  2:11;  Col.  2: 14-17. 

6.  Therefore,  in  commemoration  of  the  glorious  rest  fol- 


CHRIST  GREATER  THAN  MOSES        241 

lowing  the  greater  work  of  redemption  there  remaineth  a 
Sabbath-keeping  to  the  people  of  God.  The  reader  is  urged 
to  re-read  the  last  sermon  in  my  first  book  of  sermons  for 
full  discussion  of  this  point. 

7.  It  was  necessary  for  the  argument,  to  show  the  Jew 
who  was  glorying  in  his  Sabbath  day,  that  the  Christian 
had  a  greater  Sabbath  day. 

He  closes  the  chapter  with  this  statement :  "Having  then 
a  great  High  Priest,  who  hath  passed  through  the  heavens, 
Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  let  us  hold  fast  our  confession." 
We  confessed  faith  in  Christ ;  they  confessed  faith  in  Joshua, 
were  led  into  the  promised  land,  and  in  the  book  of  Joshua 
we  are  told  that  they  had  rest.  But  it  was  a  very  temporary 
rest,  and  was  not  the  real  Promised  Land  that  the  man  of 
faith  saw  all  of  the  time.  Abraham  saw  far  beyond  Canaan. 
He  never  got  as  much  of  that  land  as  he  could  cover  with 
his  foot.  He  sought  a  city  which  hath  foundations,  and 
whose  builder  and  maker  is  God.  Another  reason  is  that 
our  High  Priest  is  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities 
because  He  has  been  in  all  points  tempted  as  we  are,  yet 
without  sin. 

Now  comes  the  exhortation :  "Let  us  therefore  draw  near 
with  boldness  unto  the  throne  of  grace,  that  we  may  receive 
mercy  and  may  find  grace  to  help  us  in  time  of  need."  The 
whole  letter  has  this  end  in  view — ^to  stir  up,  to  put  to  full 
test  what  is  worked  in  you.  If  you  are  God's  child  you  will 
hear  the  exhortation  and  hold  on.  If  you  are  not  God's 
child,  your  heart  will  become  hardened  in  unbelief,  and  you 
will  turn  loose  and  go  back. 


24^     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 


QUESTIONS 

Ik 

1.  In  what  particulars  is  Christ  superior  to  Moses  ? 

2.  What  the  two  distinct  views  of  religion  in  this  book? 

3.  What  Paul's  application  of  these  views  to  the  ones  addressed 
in  this  letter  ? 

4.  What  his  exhortation  based  thereon  ? 

5.  What  of  the  Christian's  doubts  relative  to  his  status? 

6.  What   the   warning    relative   to   the   deceitfulness    of    sin? 
Illustrate. 

7.  What  the  evidence  that  any  one  is  a  partaker  of  Christ  as 
taught  in  this  book? 

8.  Of  what  exhortation  of  David  does  Paul  make  frequent  use 
in  this  letter,  and  what  the  point  of  his  exhortation  ? 

9.  In  what  particulars  is  Christ  superior  to  Joshua? 

10.  What  the  crucial  Greek  words  in  chapter  4  bearing  on  the 
change  of  the  Sabbath  day? 

11.  What  the  three  causes  constituting  the  difficulty  of  inter- 
pretation ? 

12.  Can  there  be  a  Sabbath  day,  not  the  seventh? 

13.  Who  the  antecedent  of  the  pronouns,  "he,"  the  first  "his"  and 
"himself"  of  4 :  10,  and  what  the  argument  therefor  ? 

14.  What  the  several  historical  backgrounds  of  the  seventh-day 
Sabbath? 

15.  What  the  historical  background  of  the  Christian  Sabbath? 

16.  Paraphrase  Heb.  4:9,  10  so  as  to  bring  out  the  meaning. 

17.  What  scriptural  proof  that  the  seventh-day  Sabbath  and  all 
its  cycle  of  Sabbaths  was  abrogated  ? 

18.  What  name  was  given  the  Christian  Sabbath,  and  what  the 
proof  of  its  observance? 

19.  What  Paul's  exhortations  in  the  closing  part  of  this  chapter, 
and  what  the  application  of  each? 

20.  What  the  purpose  of  the  letter  as  seen  from  the  closing  part 
of  this  chapter? 


XXI 


JESUS    CHRIST,    HIGH    PRIEST    OF    THE    NEW 
COVENANT,   GREATER  THAN   AARON, 
HIGH  PRIEST  OF  THE  OLD 
COVENANT 

Scripture:  Heb.  4: 14— 8:  5 

THE  Letter  to  the  Hebrews  is  an  inspired  exposition 
of  the  Sinaitic  covenant,  and  particularly  of  the  book 
of  Leviticus.  Our  analysis  and  exposition  of  the 
Sinaitic  covenant  (Ex.  19:  i — 24:9)  shows  that  this  cove- 
nant consisted  of  three  distinct  elements : 

1.  God  and  the  normal  man,  or  the  moral  law  (Ex.  20: 
I-17)  as  a  way  of  life ;  not  simply  an  obligation  but  a  condi- 
tion of  life — they  that  do  these  things  shall  live,  they  that  do 
them  not  shall  perish. 

2.  God  and  the  Nation,  or  the  ordinances  that  set  forth 
the  principles  of  civic  righteousness  (21:1 — 24:9);  in 
obedience  to  which  the  nation  lives,  and  in  disobedience  dies. 

3.  God  and  the  sinner,  or  the  Law  of  the  Altar  (Ex.  20: 
22-26),  or  the  way  of  the  sinner's  approach  to  God  in  order 
to  find  mercy. 

We  learn  that  all  subsequent  statutory  legislation  in  the 
Pentateuch  was  developed  from  these  constitutional  elements 
or  principles.  Deuteronomy  was  developed  from  the  first 
and  second,  and  from  the  third  was  developed  the  last  six- 
teen chapters  of  Exodus,  all  of  Leviticus,  and  most  of  the 
legislation  in  Numbers.  The  Altar  part,  or  God  and  the 
sinner,  was  typical  of  the  new  covenant,  and  contained  in 
figures  the  way  of  grace  and  mercy,  and  revealed  the  only 

US 


244.     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

way  by  which  Parts  i  and  2  could  be  kept.    Hence  it  was  the 
most  important  element  of  the  Sinaitic  law. 

In  the  Pentateuch  we  find  also  these  elements  of  the  law 
of  the  sinner's  approach  to  God : 

1.  The  sanctuary,  holy  of  holies,  or  a  place  where  the 
sinner  might  find  God. 

2.  A  means  of  approach  to  God  in  the  sanctuary,  or 
vicarious,  expiating  sacrifices  placating  the  divine  wrath 
against  sin. 

3.  A  mediator  to  go  between  the  sinner  seeking  mercy,  and 
God  bestowing  mercy.  This  mediator,  or  priest,  took  the 
blood  of  the  vicarious  expiation  and  carried  it  behind  the 
veil  and  offered  it  upon  the  mercy  seat,  where  God  dwelt 
between  the  cherubim.  That  mediator,  on  the  basis  of  that 
offered  blood,  made  intercession  for  the  people. 

4.  Times  in  which  to  approach  God  are  set  forth  elabo- 
rately in  that  book — daily,  weekly,  monthly,  annually,  septen- 
nially,  and  every  fiftieth  year.  Those  were  the  times  that 
they  could  go  before  God,  but  the  heart  of  Leviticus,  as  well 
as  the  heart  of  Hebrews,  was  a  particular  time,  towit :  On 
the  great  day  of  atonement,  when  the  people  appeared  be- 
fore God  to  receive  through  an  offering  presented  by  the 
priest,  the  remission  of  their  sins,  we  find  a  prescribed  ritual 
that  gave  the  steps  involved. 

5.  Then  we  find  what  place  there  was  for  penitence,  faith, 
and  prayer.  We  find  penitence  to  indicate  that  the  man 
approaching  God  came  as  a  confessed  sinner.  We  find  faith 
set  forth  by  the  laying  on  of  hands  upon  the  head  of  the 
victim — the  victim  to  take  his  place.  We  find  the  prayer- 
part  to  be  the  petitions  that  went  with  the  high  priest  and 
were  presented  by  him  when  he  made  the  offering.  All  that 
is  presented  in  the  book  of  Leviticus. 

So  we  find  that  the  sanctuary  of  God  was  that  part  which 
was  called  the  holy  of  holies,  and  that  there  God  was  visibly 
manifested,  according  to  all  Jewish  interpretation,  in  the 


CHRIST  GREATER  THAN  AARON    M5 

Shekinah  of  fire  between  the  cherubim  on  the  mercy  seat. 
We  find  the  victims  to  be  bullocks,  goats,  and  lambs.  We 
find  the  mediator  to  be,  and  particularly  upon  the  great  day 
of  atonement,  Aaron.  We  find  the  sacrifices  constantly  re- 
peated every  year ;  on  the  great  day  of  atonement  the  priest 
had  to  go  for  the  people,  carrying  the  names  of  the  tribes 
on  his  breast-plate,  going  for  them  into  the  holy  of  holies. 
In  the  Letter  to  the  Hebrews,  which  expounds  the  Altar- 
part  of  the  Sinaitic  covenant,  Paul  does  not  discuss  the 
temple  of  Solomon,  nor  of  Zerubbabel,  nor  of  Herod,  but  the 
tabernacle  of  Moses,  because  his  plan  is  to  go  back  to  origins, 
and  to  the  dignity  of  founders.  It  would  have  been  incon- 
gruous if  after  discussing  angels,  Moses,  Aaron,  and  the 
prophets,  he  had  skipped  to  the  ritual  of  the  Herodian  temple. 

He  makes  this  argument:  As  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God,  is  greater  than  the  prophets,  greater  than  the  angels, 
greater  than  Moses,  greater  than  Joshua,  so  He  is  greater 
than  Aaron.  We  do  not  discuss  in  this  chapter  superiority 
of  the  new  covenant  over  the  old,  but  the  superiority  of 
Jesus  Christ  over  Aaron  as  high  priest. 

In  some  respects  Aaron  and  Jesus  Christ  are  alike — 
neither  one  took  the  honor  to  himself,  Aaron  did  not  appoint 
himself  high  priest  to  go  before  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  did 
not  appoint  himself  to  be  mediator.  The  Father  appointed 
them.  Aaron  was  one  of  the  people.  Christ  was  like 
Aaron  in  that  respect — He  was  one  of  the  people.  He  took 
upon  himself  the  nature  of  man  and  became  as  one  of  those 
who  became  His  brethren. 

So  we  have  not  yet  arrived  to  the  point  of  discrimination 
between  Christ  and  Aaron,  but  we  do  now  come  to  the 
dividing  line :  Aaron  being  a  priest  under  the  covenant  made 
upon  Mount  Sinai,  was  himself  of  the  tribe  of  Levi.  Jesus 
Christ  did  not  belong  to  that  tribe.  He  was  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  therefore  the  priesthood  of  Christ  does  not  come 
within  the  law  of  the  covenant  established  by  Moses  on 


246     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

Mount  Sinai.  It  was  not  His  office  to  go  to  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem  and  there  officiate  as  priest.  He  had  no  such 
place  there.  That  is  a  distinction.  It  shows  that  the  Priest- 
hood of  Christ  must  be  according  to  an  entirely  different 
covenant,  otherwise  He  would  have  to  be  a  son  of  Levi  to 
be  a  priest. 

In  getting  to  this  point  of  distinction,  Paul  takes  up  a  frag- 
ment of  the  history  of  Genesis,  about  an  ancient  king  of 
Jerusalem — Melchizedek.  Before  Abraham  had  any  posses- 
sion there,  this  man  was  both  a  king  and  a  priest  of  God — 
before  the  call  of  Abraham,  before  the  segregation  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  when  there  was  no  distinction  between  Jew 
and  Gentile.  He  had  no  pedigree  of  which  there  is  any  rec- 
ord, but  when  we  come  to  Aaron's  time,  no  man  could  offici- 
ate as  an  Aaronic  priest  unless  he  could  trace  his  Levitical 
descent.  Melchizedek  had  no  such  genealogy,  and  therefore 
in  a  genealogical  sense  he  is  said  to  be  without  father  or 
mother,  and  held  his  office  as  king  and  priest  directly  from 
God.  He  was  recognized  as  greater  than  Abraham,  the 
father  of  the  Jewish  people,  for  when  Abraham  was  return- 
ing from  the  victory  over  Chedorlaomer  he  paid  tithes  to  the 
king  of  Salem  and  received  a  blessing  from  him. 

In  the  days  of  the  Psalmist  a  reference  is  made  to  that  his- 
tory :  "The  Lord  hath  sworn.  Thou  art  a  priest  forever  after 
the  order  of  Melchizedek."  This  makes  another  distinction 
— Christ,  not  Aaron,  was  made  priest  by  oath  of  God.  So  a 
distinction  between  Christ  and  Aaron  is  that  Aaron  is  after 
the  order  of  Levi  and  his  priesthood  is  under  the  Mosaic 
covenant  made  upon  Mount  Sinai,  and  Jesus  Christ  is  a  priest 
after  the  order  of  Melchizedek  anterior  even  to  Abraham, 
much  less  Moses,  and  greater  than  Abraham,  receiving  tithes 
from  the  whole  Jewish  people  in  the  person  of  Abraham,  and 
inducted  by  the  oath  of  God.  It  shows,  too,  that  no  scripture 
is  of  private  interpretation.  The  prophets  spoke  and  wrote 
as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  when  you  go  to 


CHRIST  GREATER  THAN  AARON   Wl 

interpret  a  passage  of  scripture  which  the  Holy  Spirit  in- 
dited, you  get  the  meaning  through  the  illumination  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

The  next  point  is  that  when  Aaron,  under  the  Levitical  law 
was  preparing  to  offer  a  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  people, 
he  must  first  offer  for  himself  because  he  was  a  sinner,  and 
before  he  offered  for  others  he  must  himself  be  cleansed; 
but  this  Man  was  holy,  "tempted  in  all  points  as  we  are 
tempted,  yet  without  sin."  That  distinction  in  character  is 
very  strong  between  the  two  persons — between  the  two  or- 
ders of  priesthood.  Aaron  was  a  sinner ;  our  priest  was  not 
a  sinner.    No  man  ever  convicted  Him  of  sin. 

Then  Aaron  died  and  could  not  continue  to  live  to  inter- 
cede for  the  people,  but  this  priest  ever  liveth  to  make  inter- 
cession for  His  people. 

We  now  take  up  the  general  superiority  of  the  New  Cove- 
nant, and  it  embraces  lo,  1 1,  and  12  of  the  items  of  the  analy- 
sis, only  in  expounding  this  I  will  follow  a  more  orderly  and 
logical  method  than  we  have  in  the  analysis.  This  section 
extends  from  8:  5  to  13 :  16,  and  it  even  includes  one  verse 
of  chapter  7. 

So  far,  our  exposition  has  had  to  do  with  the  person  and 
most  of  the  offices  of  the  Mediator  of  the  new  covenant, 
but  here  we  contrast  the  covenants  themselves.  Notwith- 
standing the  previous  statements  of  the  elements  of  the 
Sinaitic  covenant,  we  must  restate  them  here  briefly  in 
order  to  clearness  in  this  exposition.  The  old  covenant  is 
set  forth  in  Ex.  19  to  24:11,  and  consists  of  three  distinct 
elements : 

1.  The  decalogue,  or  God  and  the  normal  man. 

2.  The  fundamental  principles  of  civic  righteousness,  or 
God  and  the  theocratic  nation. 

3.  The  altar,  or  God  and  the  sinner,  or  the  law  of  the  sin- 
ner's approach  to  God. 

From  the  first  and  second  elements  are  derived  a  part  of 


248     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

Numbers,  and  all  of  Deuteronomy ;  from  the  third  element, 
God  and  the  sinner,  or  the  law  of  the  altar,  are  derived  the 
last  1 6  chapters  of  Exodus,  the  whole  of  Leviticus,  and  a 
part  of  Numbers. 

Our  first  question  now  arises :  What  are  the  faults  of  the 
old  covenant,  for  our  text  says  that  God  found  that  old  cove- 
nant faulty.  If  we  know  what  the  faults  are,  we  can  then 
consider  the  superiorities  of  the  new  covenant.  Evidently 
the  one  supreme  fault  of  the  first  and  second  elements,  that 
is,  the  moral  code  and  the  national  code,  was  the  inability  of 
a  fallen,  sinful  people  to  keep  the  law,  as  a  way  of  life  for 
the  individual,  or  a  way  of  life  for  the  nation.  The  reason 
is  that  the  moral  element  was  written  outside  of  the  people 
and  on  tablets  of  stone ;  they  had  no  internal  personal  knowl- 
edge— spiritual  knowledge — of  the  law.  So  written,  it  dis- 
covered sin  and  condemned  sin,  but  there  was  nothing  in  it 
to  overcome  this  inability  and  render  the  obedience  effica- 
cious. The  normal  man — Adam  before  his  fall,  and  his 
descendants — could  have  kept  the  decalogue  if  he  had  not 
fallen  and  corrupted  their  nature  derived  from  him,  could 
have  constituted  a  successful  theocratic  nation.  But  after 
the  fall  no  lineal  descendant  from  Abraham,  nor  circumcision 
of  the  flesh,  could  impart  a  new  nature. 

And  now  what  the  faults  of  the  third  part  of  that  covenant 
— that  is,  the  Levitical  code — the  last  three  chapters  of  Exo- 
dus, the  whole  of  Leviticus,  and  a  part  of  Numbers?  The 
faults  of  that  element  were : 

1.  It  was  in  whole  and  in  all  its  parts  but  a  shadow  merely 
of  heavenly  things  to  come ;  in  its  nature  and  in  its  intent  it 
was  only  transitory  and  educational. 

2.  The  lack  of  intrinsic  merit  in  the  expiating  sacrifices 
to  atone  for  sin. 

3.  The  emptiness  of  its  non-expiatory  sacrifices  arising 
from  the  want  of  the  heart  back  of  them. 

4.  Conforming  to  it  could  never  relieve  the  conscience 


CHRIST  GREATER  THAN  AARON    U9 

from  the  sense  of  sin,  guilt,  and  condemnation,  and  give 
peace  and  rest. 

5.  The  dependence  of  the  sinner  on  human  go-betweens, 
or  third  parties  in  making  offerings,  and  in  the  administra- 
tion of  cleansing  ordinances,  the  limitation  of  one  fixed  place 
to  meet  God,  and  the  further  limitation  of  set  times  in  which 
to  meet  God — that  is,  the  sinner  could  not  for  himself  directly 
approach  God  at  all  times,  in  all  places,  and  in  all 
emergencies. 

From  these  faults  what  our  text  declares  necessarily  and 
inevitably  followed,  towit :  "They  continued  not  in  my  cove- 
nant, and  I  regarded  them  not,  saith  the  Lord."  Their  whole 
national  history  is  but  the  record  of  a  series  of  breaches  of 
the  covenant  on  their  part,  and  of  God's  disregard  of  them  on 
His  part.  They  broke  the  covenant  first  in  the  very  shadow 
of  Sinai,  before  its  tablets  were  completed,  in  the  matter  of 
the  golden  calf.  They  broke  the  covenant  again  at  Kadesh- 
barnea,  and  the  whole  generation  of  adults  were  disregarded 
and  perished.  They  broke  the  covenant  again  throughout 
the  period  of  the  judges,  and  at  the  close  of  that  period  their 
rebellion  culminated  in  the  rejection  of  God  as  King,  and 
in  the  demand  for  a  human  monarchy.  After  that  monarchy 
was  established,  the  ten  tribes  broke  the  covenant  at  the  very 
start  in  erecting  the  calves  to  worship  at  Dan  and  Bethel, 
and  kept  on  breaking  it  without  cessation  until  they  perished. 
The  Judah-part  of  the  monarchy,  while  more  faithful  than 
the  ten  tribes,  repeatedly  broke  the  covenant,  and  finally,  at 
the  downfall  of  the  monarchy  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  they  were 
swept  away.  The  hierarchy  which,  through  the  clemency  of 
Persia,  succeeded  the  monarchy  and  continued  throughout 
the  Grecian  and  Roman  supremacies,  repeatedly  violated  the 
covenant,  and  the  culmination  of  their  rebellion  was  in  the 
days  of  our  Lord  when  they  rejected  Him  and  killed  the 
Prince  of  Glory,  bringing  upon  themselves  the  terrible  denun- 
ciation in  Matthew  21-23 — the  gravest  judgment  that  was 


250     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

ever  assessed  against  a  people.  This  on  account  of  the  faults 
in  that  covenant.  In  every  period  of  their  probation  they 
broke  it  and  disregarded  it. 

This  review  of  the  faults  enables  us  to  sum  up  in  one 
sweeping,  inclusive  generality  the  superiority  of  the  new 
covenant,  towit:  Our  text  says,  ^'It  was  enacted  on  better 
promises"  so  that  our  next  question  arises :  What  are  these 
better  promises  ?  Here  it  is  all  important  to  make  no  mistake. 
H  we  do  not  discern  these  better  promises  clearly  and  retain 
them  permanently  in  our  hearts,  we  will  utterly  fail  to  master 
the  priceless  lessons  of  this  book.  Notwithstanding  the  im- 
portance of  discerning  and  retaining  these  promises,  what  a 
sad  thing  it  is,  that  if  the  preachers  of  Christendom  were 
called  up  and  asked  to  state  what  these  better  promises  are, 
probably  not  more  than  one  in  a  hundred  could  give  them  cor- 
rectly, and  three-fourths  of  so-called  Christendom  have  never 
seen  them.    I  will  give  them  to  you  in  the  next  chapter. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Hebrews  is  an  exposition  of  what  covenant,  and  what  O.  T. 
book  in  particular? 

2.  Where  is  the  record  of  the  old  covenant,  and  what  its  con- 
stituent elements  ? 

3.  What  subsequent  parts  of  the  Pentateuch  developed  from 
each  of  these  elements? 

4.  What  the  elements  of  the  law  of  the  sinner's  approach  to  God, 
and  what  the  particulars  of  each? 

5.  What  do  we  find  as  to  the  sanctuary,  the  victims  of  sacrifice, 
the  mediator,  the  times  and  the  work  of  the  high  priest  under  the  old 
covenant  ? 

6.  Why  does  the  author  of  the  Letter  to  the  Hebrews  discuss  the 
tabernacle  of  Moses  and  not  the  temple  of  Herod? 

7.  In  what  respects  are  Aaron  and  Christ  alike? 

8.  In  whatparticulars  is  Christ  greater  than  Aaron?   (See  analysis.) 

9.  Who  was  Melchizedek,  and  how  does  he  illustrate  the  order  of 
Christ's  priesthood? 

10.  What  the  faults  of  the  first  and  second  elements  of  the  old 
covenant? 

11.  What  the  faults  of  the  third  element  of  the  same  covenant? 

12.  From  these  faults  what  necessarily  and  inevitably  followed, 
and  what  particular  illustrations  of  this  in  the  history  of  God's 
people,  Israel? 

13.  Sum  up  in  a  sweeping  generality  the  superiority  of  the  new 
covenant  and  show  its  importance. 


XXII 

THE  BETTER  PROMISES  OF  THE  NEW 
COVENANT 

Scripture:  Heb.  8 :  6 — lo :  39 

THE  promises  of  the  new  covenant  are  as  follows: 
I.  The  Promise  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  renew  and 
sanctify  their  souls  and  glorify  their  bodies,  in  order 
to  enable  them  ultimately  to  keep  God's  law  individually,  and 
to  become  collectively  a  holy  nation  for  God's  own  posses- 
sion. The  first  promise,  then,  relates  to  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

2.  The  Promise  of  a  Surety,  who  would  stand  for  them 
until  the  work  of  the  Spirit  is  completed.  For  instance,  say 
you  were  converted,  you  were  regenerated,  and  yet,  even 
though  regenerated,  your  soul  is  not  yet  sanctified,  your  body 
is  not  yet  prepared  so  that  the  entire  man,  body,  soul  and 
spirit,  will  perfectly  keep  the  law  of  God.  You  need  a  surety 
to  stand  for  you  until  the  Spirit's  work  is  completed,  and 
so  that  is  the  second  promise  as  expressed  in  7 :  22 :  "J^sus 
hath  become  the  surety  of  a  better  covenant." 

3.  The  Promise  of  one  Expiatory  Sacrifice,  whose  dig- 
nity and  intrinsic  merit  and  all-sufficiency  would,  when  once 
offered,  really  and  forever  atone  for  sin. 

4.  The  final  and  glorious  advent  of  our  Lord,  not  as  a  sin- 
offering  but  as  judge  of  the  world. 

5.  The  Priesthood  of  Every  Subject  of  the  Covenant,  thus 
forever  dispensing  with  the  human  go-betweens,  or  third 
parties,  and  enabling  him  (the  sinner)  to  approach  God 
directly  for  himself  at  all  times,  in  all  places,  and  in  all  emer- 

^51 


252     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

gencies,  and  the  substitution  of  spiritual  sacrifices  for  all  the 
cumbersome  non-expiating  sacrifices  of  the  old  covenant,  so 
that  each  Christian,  himself  a  priest,  offers  these  spiritual 
sacrifices.  You  see,  the  promise  has  relation  to  two  kinds 
of  sacrifices,  one  expiatory  sacrifice,  and  then  spiritual  sacri- 
fices that  take  the  place  of  the  old  covenant  non-expiating 
sacrifices — for  instance,  all  meat-offerings,  and  all  the  un- 
bloody offerings  of  the  old  covenant. 

6.  A  glorious  Outcome  into  a  Heavenly  Country  and  a 
heavenly  city,  and  eternal  rest,  peace,  and  joy,  into  ever- 
lasting companionship  with  God  and  with  all  the  holy  angels. 

7.  A  Better  Festival.  We  will  have  a  good  time  when  we 
get  to  that  better  festival.  How  proud  was  the  Jew  of  his 
festivals,  the  great  annual  feasts.  We  find  that  immediately 
after  the  consummation  of  the  covenant  in  Exodus,  that  a 
covenant-feast  was  held,  and  that  Aaron,  Moses,  and  Joshua, 
and  the  elders  went  up  on  the  side  of  the  mountain  and 
feasted  and  held  communion  with  God.  But  the  new  cove- 
nant has  a  better  festival. 

I  will  briefly  restate  these : 

1.  The  promise  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

2.  The  promise  of  a  surety  who  will  stand  for  them  until 
the  work  of  the  Spirit  shall  be  completed. 

3.  The  promise  of  one  expiatory  sacrifice. 

4.  The  promise  of  our  Lord's  final  advent,  not  as  a  sin- 
offering. 

5.  The  priesthood  of  every  subject  of  the  new  covenant, 
and  the  substitution  of  spiritual  sacrifices  that  this  priesthood 
would  offer. 

6.  The  glorious  outcome  in  heaven. 

7.  The  better  festival. 

These  are  the  better  promises  of  the  new  covenant,  and  it 
is  our  business  now  to  show  from  the  text  in  detail  the  very 
scriptures  which  embody  these  seven  better  promises,  and 
therefore  we  commence  at  the  prophecy  of  Jeremiah  quoted 


THE  BETTER  PROMISES  ^53 

in  chapter  8 :  "Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I 
will  make  a  new  covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel  and  with 
the  house  of  Judah;  not  according  to  the  covenant  that  I 
made  with  their  fathers  in  the  day  that  I  took  them  by  the 
hand  to  lead  them  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt ;  for  they 
continued  not  in  my  covenant,  and  I  regarded  them  not,  saith 
the  Lord.  For  this  is  the  covenant  I  will  make  with  the 
house  of  Israel  after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord,  (now  we 
come  to  the  first  promise),  I  will  put  my  laws  into  their 
mind,  and  on  their  heart  also  will  I  write  them."  This  is  the 
internal  writing  contrasted  with  the  law  externally  written 
on  stone,  and  is  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  is  equivalent  to 
regeneration,  as  Paul  expresses  it  in  II  Cor.  3:3:  "Ye  are  an 
epistle  of  Christ  ministered  by  us,  written  not  with  ink,  but 
with  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God ;  not  on  tables  of  stone,  but 
on  tables  that  are  hearts  of  flesh."  The  connection  on  that 
passage  is  as  follows : 

"Who  also  made  us  sufficient  as  ministers  of  the  new  covenant; 
not  of  the  letter  [that  is,  of  the  letter  traced  on  the  tables  of  stone], 
but  of  the  Spirit ;  for  the  letter  killeth,  but  the  Spirit  giveth  life.  But 
if  the  ministration  of  death,  written  and  engraved  on  stones,  came 
with  glory,  so  that  the  children  of  Israel  could  not  look  steadfastly 
upon  the  face  of  Moses  for  the  glory  of  his  face ;  which  glory  was 
passing  away :  how  shall  not  rather  the  ministration  of  the  Spirit  be 
with  glory?  For  if  the  ministration  of  condemnation  hath  glory,  much 
rather  doth  the  ministration  of  righteousness  exceed  in  glory.  For 
verily  that  which  hath  been  made  glorious  hath  not  been  made  glori- 
ous in  this  respect,  by  reason  of  the  glory  that  surpasseth.  For  if  that 
which  passeth  away  was  with  glory,  much  more  than  which  remain- 
eth  is  in  glory.  Having  therefore  such  a  hope,  we  use  great  boldness 
of  speech  [that  is,  simplicity  of  speech],  and  are  not  as  Moses,  who 
put  a  veil  upon  his  face,  that  the  children  of  Israel  should  not  look 
steadfastly  on  the  end  of  that  which  was  passing  away:  but  their 
minds  were  hardened;  for  until  this  very  day  at  the  reading  of  the 
old  covenant  the  same  veil  remaineth,  it  not  being  revealed  to  them 
that  it  is  done  away  in  Christ.  But  unto  this  day,  whensoever  Moses 
is  read,  a  veil  lieth  upon  their  heart.  But  whensoever  it  shall  turn 
to  the  Lord,  the  veil  is  taken  away  [As  he  will  be  in  the  final  deliver- 
ance of  all  Israel].  Now  the  Lord  is  the  Spirit:  and  where  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty.  But  we  all,  with  unveiled  face 
beholding  as  in  a  mirror  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  and  transformed 
into  the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  from  the  Lord  the 
Spirit." 


^54     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

This  passage  should  very  solemnly  impress  upon  our 
hearts  that  the  first  great  promise  in  the  new  covenant 
relates  to  the  writing  inside  of  us  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 

The  regeneration  in  its  quickening,  or  renewal,  part  (and 
it  always  consists  of  two  parts ;  the  second  one  we  will  bring 
out  presently)  makes  alive  and  gives  a  holy  disposition  to 
the  mind,  inclining  to  love  God  and  desiring  to  obey.  They 
did  not  keep  that  old  covenant;  they  continued  not  in  it. 
Why  ?  They  did  not  have  the  heart  to  do  it.  Thus  regenera- 
tion is  the  antitype  of  circumcision. 

Some  people  talk  about  baptism  coming  in  place  of  cir- 
cumcision. Let  us  consider  what  Paul  says  of  circumcision : 
"For  he  is  not  a  Jew  who  is  one  outwardly ;  neither  is  that 
circumcision  which  is  outward  in  the  flesh ;  but  he  is  a  Jew 
who  is  one  inwardly ;  and  circumcision  is  that  of  the  heart, 
in  the  spirit,  not  in  the  letter,  whose  praise  is  not  of  men 
but  of  God."  So  that  spiritual  circumcision  qualifies  one 
to  be  a  true  subject  of  God. 

As  an  example  of  this  writing  on  the  heart  under  the  new 
covenant,  take  Acts  2,  where  Peter  preached  that  great 
sermon  on  the  Messiah  that  day  when  the  Holy  Spirit  came 
down.  That  is  the  Spirit  of  promise  (we  are  on  the  first 
promise  of  the  new  covenant)  :  "Tarry  ye  at  Jerusalem, 
until  I  send  ye  the  promise  of  the  Father."  On  that  day 
while  Peter  was  preaching,  the  record  shows  they  were 
"pricked  in  their  heart"  and  cried  out,  "Men  and  brethren, 
what  shall  we  do?"  There  is  the  handwriting  on  the  heart. 
A  much  more  marvelous  example  is  yet  in  the  future — earth 
never  saw  anything  like  it.  It  is  in  the  salvation  of  the 
whole  Jewish  nation  in  one  day  by  the  Spirit's  regenerating 
power.  The  Jewish  nation  stood  at  Sinai,  and  the  law  was 
written  on  tables  of  stone,  outside  of  them,  and  affected 
them  not. 

There  will  come  a  time  when  the  same  Jewish  nation,  in 
their  'descendants,  will  he  gathered  together  from  all  the 


THE  BETTER  PROMISES  26fi 

countries  of  the  earth  where  they  have  been  dispersed,  and 
in  the  flash  of  an  eye  God  will  write  the  new  covenant  on 
their  hearts. 

Ezekiel  discusses  it  in  the  famous  36th  and  37th  chapters 
of  his  prophecy,  where  he  says,  "Not  for  your  sakes  do  I 
do  this,  but  for  my  own  name  sake  I  will  gather  you  together 
out  of  all  the  nations  where  you  have  profaned  my  name, 
and  I  will  take  away  your  stony  heart  and  give  you  a  heart 
of  flesh,  and  I  will  put  my  Spirit  within  you,  and  then  you 
will  keep  my  commandments."  In  order  to  show  the  stu- 
pendous nature  of  that  writing  on  the  heart  a  picture  of  it 
is  given  in  the  imagery  of  "the  valley  of  dry  bones" — very 
many  and  very  dry.  God  asked  the  prophet  the  question : 
"Can  these  dry  bones  live?"  "Not  by  any  human  power, 
Lord,  thou  knowest."  Then  said  God,  "Stand  over  them 
and  prophesy."  "What  shall  I  prophesy  ?"  "Say,  Come,  O 
Spirit,  and  breathe  on  these  slain."  And  the  Spirit  came 
and  breathed  on  the  slain,  and  the  bones  lived,  and  stood 
up  a  great  army.  I  have  selected  these  two  examples  because 
one,  i.e.,  the  3,000  Jews  saved  at  Pentecost,  is  the  first  fruits, 
and  the  final  salvation  of  all  Israel  is  the  harvest. 

There  is  a  striking  reference  to  this  harvest  in  the  closing 
part  of  Zech.  12  and  verse  i  of  Zech.  13.  After  referring 
to  their  barrenness  in  their  dispersion,  he  says,  "In  the  last 
days  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  I  will  pour  out  on  my  people, 
Israel,  the  spirit  of  grace  and  supplication,  and  as  soon  as 
that  comes  upon  them  they  shall  mourn  as  one  mourning 
for  his  first-born;  they  shall  look  upon  Him  whom  they 
pierced,  with  an  eye  of  faith,  and  in  that  day  shall  be  a 
fountain  opened  for  sin  and  for  uncleanness."  I  cannot 
help  wishing  that  I  could  live  to  see  it.  Isaiah,  in  talking 
about  it,  says,  "Hath  the  earth  ever  heard  of  such  a  thing? 
Has  anybody  ever  seen  such  a  thing,  that  a  nation  is  born 
in  a  day  ?" 

Let's  see  how  Paul  continues  his  discussion  of  this  promise 


256     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

of  the  Spirit.  What  is  the  result?  "And  I  will  be  to  them 
a  God,  and  they  shall  be  to  me  a  people,"  i.e.,  "When  they 
are  regenerated,  I  will  be  to  them  a  God  in  reality,  and  they 
shall  be  to  me  a  people  in  reality."  Let*s  see  how  this  is 
expressed  elsewhere.  In  I  Pet.  2 : 8  we  have  this  statement : 
"A  stone  of  stumbling,  a  rock  of  offence  was  Christ,  for 
they  stumbled  at  the  word,  being  disobedient,  whereunto 
they  were  also  appointed.  But  ye  [that  is,  ye  new-covenant 
people]  are  an  elect  race,  a  royal  priesthood,  a  holy  nation, 
a  people  for  God's  own  possession,"  as  here  in  Hebrews  he 
says,  "I  will  be  their  God  and  they  will  be  my  people." 
How  does  Paul  elsewhere  express  the  same  thought?  In 
Tit.  2 :  14  he  says,  "He  gave  himself  for  us,  that  He  might 
redeem  us  from  all  iniquity  and  purify  unto  himself  a  people 
for  His  own  possession,  zealous  of  good  works." 

The  result,  then,  of  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  that 
God  in  reality  becomes  their  God,  and  they  become  in  reality 
His  people.  That  leads  us  to  consider  the  culmination  of 
that  very  thing.  The  Spirit's  work  is  not  completed  at  once. 
We  are  God's  people  now,  because  we  are  regenerated ;  but 
suppose  we  turn  to  the  culmination  of  this  covenant  as  pre- 
sented in  Rev.  21 : 3:  "And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of 
the  throne  saying,  Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men, 
and  He  shall  dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall  be  His  people, 
and  God  himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their  God ;  and 
He  shall  wipe  away  every  tear  from  their  eyes,  and  death 
shall  be  no  more,  neither  shall  there  be  mourning  nor  crying, 
nor  pain,  any  more ;  the  first  things  are  passed  away."  So 
that  when  He  says,  as  the  first  result  of  that  regenerating 
work,  "I  shall  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people," 
it  means  His  being  our  God  as  we  now  are,  and  His  being 
our  God  when  we  are  perfect  in  heaven.  That  is  the  first 
result  of  the  Spirit's  work. 

The  Second  Result. — Let  us  consider  the  passage  quoted 
from  Jeremiah,  verse  1 1 :   "And  they  shall  not  teach  every 


THE  BETTER  PROMISES  ^57 

man  his  fellow-citizen,  and  every  man  his  brother,  saying, 
Know  the  Lord:  for  all  shall  know  me,  from  the  least  to 
the  greatest  of  them."  That  is  the  second  result.  This  per- 
sonal spiritual  knowledge  of  God  is  a  characteristic  of  the 
subjects  of  the  new  covenant.  Paul  thus  expresses  the 
same  thought  in  the  Letter  to  the  Romans,  8: 14 — it  is  very 
important — "For  as  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
these  are  the  sons  of  God.  For  ye  received  not  the  spirit 
of  bondage  again  unto  fear;  but  you  received  the  spirit  of 
adoption,  whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Father.  The  Spirit  him- 
self beareth  witness  with  our  spirit,  that  we  are  children 
of  God :  and  if  children,  then  heirs ;  heirs  of  God,  and  joint- 
heirs  with  Christ." 

To  every  subject  of  the  new  covenant  there  comes  an 
experimental  knowledge  of  God.  In  the  light  of  this  per- 
sonal experience  witnessed  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  an  ignorant 
Negro  is  more  than  a  match  for  the  most  highly  cultured 
and  educated  infidel.  I  heard  of  such  a  case.  The  infidel 
said,  "That  is  all  foolishness ;  there  is  no  such  thing  inside 
of  you."  The  old  Negro  said,  "You  ought  to  say.  There 
is  no  such  thing  as  yoii  knows  of.'  " 

The  humblest  son  of  earth,  with  that  internal,  personal 
knowledge  of  God  that  comes  through  his  regeneration,  is 
stronger  than  the  greatest  infidel  or  the  strongest  demon  in 
hell. 

A  reason  then  is  assigned  attesting  the  character  of  this 
knowledge.  Let's  see  what  it  is.  He  says,  "For  I  will  be 
merciful  to  their  iniquities,  and  their  sins  will  I  remember 
no  more,"  Heb.  8: 12.  There  he  is  referring  to  their  sub- 
jective knowledge — the  effect  on  their  conscience — ^that  He 
had  been  merciful  to  their  iniquities,  and  that  He  will  not 
remember  these  iniquities  any  more  forever.  This  means 
that  the  sense  of  guilt  and  condemnation  awakened  by  the 
Spirit's  conviction  of  sin  is  followed  by  a  sense  of  peace 
and  rest  through  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  so  that 


£58     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

being  justified  by  faith  we  have  peace  with  God,  and  the 
sins  being  thus  removed  never  more  trouble  the  conscience. 
God  has  forever  blotted  them  out;  as  far  as  the  East  is 
from  the  West  He  has  removed  them. 

Knowing  this,  I  have  employed  it  as  a  test  in  the  inquiry 
room.  Three  preachers  once  came  to  me,  bothered  over  a 
certain  case ;  they  could  not  tell  whether  he  was  converted 
or  not,  and  wanted  me  to  talk  to  him.  I  sat  down  by  him 
and  put  these  questions :  "Have  you  a  sensitive  conscience  ?" 
"Yes,  sir."  "Does  that  conscience  trouble  you  on  account 
of  sins?"  "Yes,  sir."  "Do  you  remember  when  the  sense 
of  guilt  and  condemnation  as  a  sinner  first  came  on  you." 
"Well,  yes,  I  do."  "Do  you  remember  what  became  of  it?" 
"Well,"  he  says,  "when  I  believed  on  Jesus  Christ  it  just 
fled  away  like  a  cloud."  Here  comes  my  crucial  question: 
"In  your  present  trouble  of  conscience  on  account  of  sins, 
does  your  conscience  go  back  to  take  up  the  burden  of  those 
old  sins  before  you  were  converted,  or  does  it  take  up  the 
burden  of  the  sins  committed  since  that  time?"  He  said, 
"The  sins  committed  since  I  became  a  Christian."  "Sir,  if 
you  were  not  converted,  it  would  go  back  and  take  up  that 
old  burden  and  emphasize  that  as  the  chief  burden." 

That  is  one  of  the  best  tests  I  ever  saw.  "I  will  be  merci- 
ful to  their  iniquities,  and  their  sins  I  will  remember  no 
more" — "I  never  will  bring  those  sins  up  against  you."  A 
man's  justification  is  instantaneous  and  forever,  and  that 
peace  that  comes  in  justification  will  outlast  all  the  stars  in 
the  heavens.    That  burden  never  can  be  assumed  again. 

So  far,  I  have  referred  to  the  promise  of  the  Spirit  as 
the  first  promise  of  the  new  covenant,  and  we  have  con- 
sidered the  work  of  the  Spirit  in  one  element  of  regenera- 
tion only — the  renewing,  or  quickening,  or  making  alive — 
but  there  is  another  element  of  the  Spirit's  work  that  is 
brought  out  clearly  in  the  next  chapter,  as  follows :  "For  if 
the  blood  of  goats  and  bulls,  and  the  ashes  of  a  heifer  sprink- 


THE  BETTER  PROMISES  259 

ling  them  that  have  been  defiled,  sanctify  unto  the  clean- 
ness of  the  flesh :  how  much  more  shall  the  blood  of  Christ, 
who  through  the  eternal  Spirit  offered  himself  without 
blemish  unto  God,  cleanse  your  conscience  from  dead  works 
to  serve  the  living  God  ?" 

That  element  of  regeneration  is  the  application  of  the 
blood  of  Christ  to  the  soul.  Some  believe  I  am  cranky  on 
the  two  elements  in  regeneration.  Take  Ezek.  36 :  25-27, 
"And  I  will  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be 
clean:  from  all  your  filthiness,  and  from  all  your  idols, 
will  I  cleanse  you.  A  new  heart  also  will  I  give  you,  and 
a  new  spirit  will  I  put  within  you;  and  I  will  take  away 
the  stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh,  and  I  will  give  you  a  heart 
of  flesh.  And  I  will  put  my  Spirit  within  you,  and  cause 
you  to  walk  in  my  statutes,  and  ye  shall  keep  mine  ordi- 
nances, and  do  them."  David  brings  out  the  two  elements : 
"Purify  with  hyssop" — ^you  see,  that  water  of  purification 
was  sprinkled  with  hyssop — "wash  me,  and  I  shall  be  whiter 
than  snow,  and  renew  a  right  spirit  within  me" — that  is  the 
other  part  of  it. 

To  the  same  eflfect  is  Tit.  3:5,  6 :  "Not  by  works  done 
in  righteousness  which  we  did  ourselves,  but  according  to 
His  mercy  He  saved  us,  through  the  washing  of  regenera- 
tion, and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  So  the  first  thing — 
the  washing,  or  cleansing  and  renewing — comes  from  the 
application  of  the  blood  of  Christ;  the  Spirit  does  that  in 
regeneration — that's  just  where  faith  takes  hold.  The  Spirit 
regenerates  in  the  sense  of  renewing,  or  first  cleanses  and 
then  renews — that  is  the  order.  There  can  be  no  renewal 
brought  about  until  the  Spirit  applies  the  blood  of  Christ, 
and  then  He  renews  the  nature.  That  is  exactly  what  is 
meant  in  John,  "Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  Spirit," 
which  means  except  that  a  man  be  cleansed  by  the  blood 
of  Christ  and  renewed  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter 
the  kingdom  of  God.    The  two  together  make  the  new  birth. 


260     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

or,  as  it  is  expressed  in  the  Letter  to  the  Ephesians :  "Christ 
also  loved  the  church  and  gave  himself  for  it,  that,  having 
cleansed  it  by  the  washing  of  the  water  through  the  Word," 
and  then  goes  on  to  tell  that  He  makes  it  holy,  without 
blemish,  in  love. 

Let  the  reader  study  that  passage  in  Numbers  concerning 
the  red  heifer,  and  how  her  ashes  are  mingled  with  water, 
making  lye,  thus  making  the  water  of  cleansing  which  repre- 
sents the  application  of  Christ's  blood. 


QUESTIONS 

1.  What  the  promises  of  the  new  covenant? 

2.  What  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  under  the  new  covenant? 

3.  What  scriptures  show  this  first  promise,  and  what  other  scrip- 
tures show  its  fulfillment? 

4.  What  the  relation  of  the  conversion  of  3,000  at  Pentecost  and 
the  conversion  of  the  Jews  as  a  nation? 

5.  What  the  first  result  of  this  work  of  the  Spirit,  and  how  is  this 
thought  elsewhere  expressed  in  the  N.  T.  ? 

6.  What  the  second  result,  and  how  is  this  thought  elsewhere 
expressed  by  Paul? 

7.  Explain  the  difference  in  experimental  knowledge  between  the 
subjects  of  the  two  covenants,  8:  11. 

8.  What  the  illustration  by  the  author? 

9.  What  reason  is  assigned  attesting  the  character  of  this  knowl- 
edge, and  what  its  meaning? 

ID.    How  would  you  apply  10 :  17  as  a  test  in  an  inquiry  room  to 
determine  a  case  of  doubtful  conversion? 

11.  What  the  two  distinct  elements  in  regeneration? 

12.  Show  these  two  elements  in  Ezek.  36 :  25-27. 

13.  Show  the  same  in  Titus  3:5. 

14.  Also  in  Jno.  3 :  5. 

15.  Eph.  5 :  2^. 

16.  What  O.  T.  type  of  applying  the  blood  of  this  one  sacrifice, 
and  where  found?    Explain  fully. 


XXIII 

THE  PROMISE  OF  THE  SURETY  AND  OF  THE 
SACRIFICE 

Scripture:  8:6 — 10:39 

WE  have  seen  in  the  preceding  chapter  that  the  coming 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  first  great  promise  of  the 
new  covenant,  that  is,  in  the  order  of  Paul's  argu- 
ment, and  that  the  objects  of  the  Spirit's  work  is  to  secure 
a  perfect  obedience  to  the  law.  That  this  is  accomplished 
by  (i)  regeneration  in  its  two  elements,  cleansing  by  the 
application  of  Christ's  blood  to  the  sinner  and  by  renewing 
the  mind;  (2)  by  certifying  in  the  experience  of  its  sub- 
ject the  remission  of  sins  and  Sonship;  and  (3)  by  complete 
sanctification  of  the  soul  and  the  glorification  of  the  body. 
The  second  great  promise  of  the  new  covenant  is 
The  Surety  of  the  New  Covenant.  This  doctrine  is  thus 
expressed :  "By  so  much  also  hath  Jesus  become  the  surety 
of  the  better  covenant."  That  is  in  7 :  22,  but  because  this 
is  the  second  idea,  or  High  Priest  idea,  or  the  suretyship 
of  Jesus,  discussion  was  deferred  when  we  were  on  chap- 
ter 7  until  we  came  to  the  first,  or  legal,  idea  of  the  surety- 
ship, so  as  to  present  the  two  together.  Webster  thus  defines 
the  legal  idea :  "In  law,  one  that  is  bound  with  and  for 
another,"  and  he  cites  the  words  of  Judah  to  Joseph :  "Thy 
servant  became  surety  for  the  lad  to  my  father"  (Gen. 
44:22),  and  further  says  that  the  surety  is  compellable  to 
pay  the  debt  of  the  original  debtor.  The  legal  idea  is  even 
stronger  when  the  surety  becomes  an  instant  substitute  for 
the  original  debtor  by  having  the  debt  charged  to  the  surety 

^61 


26S     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

and  the  debtor  released.  In  this  case  there  is  remission 
to  the  debtor  before  the  surety  actually  pays  the  debt  to 
the  creditor.  For  instance,  Paul  writes  Philemon  concern- 
ing Onesimus:  "But  if  he  oweth  thee  aught,  put  that  to 
mine  account;  I  Paul  writeth  with  mine  own  hand  I  will 
pay  it."  This  is  a  legal  bond  assuming  the  debt,  and  Onesi- 
mus is  legally  released  when  the  debt  is  transferred  to 
PauFs  account,  though  it  may  be  quite  a  while  before  Paul 
pays  it.  As  the  author  of  Hebrews  expresses  the  thought 
elsewhere :  "God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto 
himself,  not  reckoning  unto  them  their  trespasses'' — He  is 
putting  them  to  the  account  of  the  surety,  not  reckoning 
their  trespasses  to  them.  Or,  as  in  the  case  of  Abraham 
himself:  "And  he  believed  in  Jehovah,  and  He  reckoned 
it  unto  him  for  righteousness."  In  this  way  only  could  the 
sins  of  the  Old  Testament  saints  (see  chapter  ii)  be  re- 
mitted and  consciousness  of  remission  given  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  before  the  expiation  of  sins  was  made  to  God  on 
the  cross.  As  our  old  "Philadelphia  Confession  of  Faith" 
expresses  it  (Art.  8,  Sec.  6)  :  "Although  the  price  of  re- 
demption was  not  actually  paid  by  Christ  till  after  His 
incarnation,  yet  the  virtue,  efficacy,  and  benefit  thereof  was 
communicated  to  the  elect  in  all  ages  successively  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world,  in  and  by  those  promises,  types, 
and  sacrifices  wherein  He  was  revealed  and  signified  to 
be  the  Seed  of  the  woman  which  should  bruise  the  serpent's 
head ;  and  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
being  the  same  yesterday,  and  today,  and  forever."  That  is 
what  our  Baptist  Articles  of  Confession  say.  One  cannot 
be  a  sound  theologian  if  he  fail  to  master  this  legal  idea  of 
the  suretyship  of  our  Lord.  It  is  precisely  at  this  point 
that  many  great  heresies  have  arisen,  two  of  which  I  now 
state : 

I.  That  Old  Testament  saints,  after  death,  were  side- 
tracked into  a  half-way  place  until  after  Christ's  death,  and 


PROMISES  OF  THE  SURETY  263 

then  He  announced  to  them  their  dehverance,  and  took  them 
with  Him  into  heaven — a  conceit  derived  from  uninspired 
apocryphal  books,  written  in  part,  perhaps,  before  Christ 
came,  and  the  rest  after  His  death,  yet  this  error  prevails 
with  many  till  this  day. 

2.  The  second  heresy  is  very  modern,  and  is  most  thor- 
oughly set  forth  by  Mr.  Ezell,  a  Campbellite  preacher,  in 
a  book  which  treats  the  new  covenant  as  Christ's  last  will 
and  testament  which  could  not  become  effective  until  after 
Christ's  death,  his  object  being  to  shut  off  consideration  of 
all  cases  of  pardon  as  recorded  in  the  gospels  as  not  now 
applicable,  and  make  Acts  2 :  38  the  one  and  only  "law  of 
pardon."  His  argument  is  based  on  Heb.  9:  16,  17.  Before 
a  will  or  testament  is  effective  there  must  of  necessity  be 
the  death  of  him  that  made  it.  On  which  we  remark  (i) 
that  the  Greek  word,  diatheke,  means  "covenant,"  and  the 
only  place  in  the  Bible  where  it  may  be  translated  "testa- 
ment" is  in  Heb.  9:  16,  17,  which  would  show,  not  that  the 
new  covenant  is  a  will,  or  testament,  but  that  in  one  point 
only  a  will  is  analogous  to  the  covenant,  namely,  there  must 
be  a  death  to  ratify  it.  He  takes  a  will  to  illustrate  this  one 
point  of  the  covenant.  The  fallacy  of  his  whole  argument 
lies  in  his  failure  to  see  that  through  the  surety  of  the  new 
covenant  being  accounted  in  God's  mind  "a  Lamb  slain  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world,"  the  benefits  of  the  covenant 
may  accrue  to  any  believer  before  the  debt  is  actually  paid 
God-ward,  as  our  argument  has  just  shown,  and  as  the 
whole  of  chapter  1 1  will  demonstrate. 

The  second  idea  of  the  suretyship  is  based  on  the  passage 
showing  the  high  priesthood  of  Christ,  who,  by  ever  living 
to  intercede  for  His  people,  secures  the  remission  of  sins 
committed  after  justification,  as  the  legal  idea  of  surety- 
ship secured  the  remission  of  sins  committed  before  justi- 
fication. Hence  the  conclusion  of  the  author  of  Hebrews: 
"He  is  able  to  save  unto  the  uttermost  all  that  come  unto 


g64     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

God  through  Him,  seeing  He  ever  liveth  to  intercede  for 
them."  The  first  idea  of  surety  covers  all  past  sins  up  to 
justification,  as  we  see  clearly  set  forth  in  Rom.  3 :  25,  and 
the  second  idea  covers  all  sins  to  the  uttermost — that  is, 
after  justification  until  we  pass  out  of  the  world.  This  entire 
argument  is  in  Rom.  8 :  33-39,  where  he  says,  "Who  can 
lay  any  charge  to  God's  elect?"  First,  Christ  has  died  for 
us;  second.  He  is  risen;  third,  He  is  exalted  to  the  right 
hand  of  the  majesty  on  high ;  fourth,  He  ever  liveth  to  inter- 
cede for  us.  And  that  passage  in  the  first  letter  of  John: 
"And  if  any  man  sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father, 
Jesus  Christ  the  righteous"  *  *  *  "If  we  say  that  we  have 
no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us." 
We  see  the  double  idea  of  a  surety — the  legal  idea,  covering 
sin  up  to  justification,  and  the  High  Priest  idea,  covering  sin 
after  justification. 

Let  us  compare  some  Old  Testament  verses  that  bring 
out  the  idea  of  the  surety.  First,  the  prayer  of  Job :  "Give 
now  a  pledge,  be  surety  for  me  with  thyself  ;"  second,  Psalms 
119:  122:  "Be  surety  for  thy  servant  for  good;  let  not  the 
proud  oppress  me ;"  third,  the  prayer  of  Hezekiah  when  he 
was  so  sick:  "Like  a  swallow  or  a  crane  did  I  chatter; 
I  did  moan  as  a  dove ;  mine  eyes  fail  with  looking  upward : 
O,  Lord,  I  am  oppressed,  be  thou  my  surety/'  We  see  that 
every  one  of  these,  in  a  dark  hour,  desired  a  surety  that  is 
above  human  power ;  they  wanted  a  divine  surety. 

We  now  come  to  the  third  great  promise  of  the  new 
covenant,  as  set  forth  in  Heb.  10:  1-18,  that  is — 

The  One  Expiating  Sacrifice. — This  scripture  contrasts 
them  by  first  showing  that  the  law  was  merely  a  shadow 
of  the  substance  that  was  to  come.  As  the  poet,  Campbell, 
expresses  it  in  the  words  of  the  wizard  warning  Lochiel 
before  the  battle  of  Culloden : 

"  'Tis  the  sunset  of  life  gives  me  mystical  lore, 
And  coming  events  cast  their  shadows  before." 


PROMISES  OF  THE  SURETY  S65 

If  early  in  the  morning  on  a  bright  day  one  starts  toward 
the  West,  he  casts  his  shadow  before  him,  the  sun  is  behind 
him  and  the  shadow  before  him.  And  just  so  the  real 
things  in  heaven  cast  before  a  model  or  rough  outline  like 
a  shadow.  And  that  constituted  the  typical  part  of  the  old 
covenant — it  was  the  shadow  of  the  reality  in  heaven.  That 
is  the  first  point. 

The  second  point  is  that  the  constant  repetition  of  these 
shadows  year  by  year,  say  on  the  great  day  of  atonement 
every  year,  could  not  make  those  who  drew  nigh  to  God 
perfect. 

His  third  idea  is  that  sacrifices  without  intrinsic  merit 
cannot  take  away  sin — "it  is  impossible  for  the  blood  of 
bullocks  and  goats  to  take  away  sin."  The  blood  of  a  brute 
cannot,  take  away  a  human  sin,  and  the  principle  involved 
in  that  declaration  is  very  far-reaching.  We  may  apply  that 
principle  this  way :  It  is  impossible  on  account  of  the  lack 
of  intrinsic  merit  that  the  water  of  baptism,  or  the  bread 
and  wine  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  shall  take  away  sin. 

The  next  point  is  the  testimony  of  the  prophets,  and  the 
prophet  he  cites  here  is  David  in  Psalm  40,  but  he  quotes 
this  from  the  Septuagint,  which  in  the  second  line  gives  a 
different  idea  from  the  Hebrew — and  gives  the  true  idea, 
too.  Let  us  consider  Psalm  40,  commencing  with  verse  6 : 
"Sacrifice  and  offering  thou  hast  no  delight  in."  The  trans- 
lation of  the  Hebrew  reads :  "Mine  ears  hast  thou  bored." 
But  Paul  says,  "Sacrifice  and  offering  thou  wouldst  not,  but 
a  body  didst  thou  prepare  for  me,"  and  Paul  follows  the 
Septuagint  in  quoting ;  there  is  not  so  very  much  difference 
in  the  two  meanings.  When  a  man  voluntarily  preferred 
slavery  under  the  old  law,  his  ear  was  nailed  to  a  post  as  a 
badge  of  slavery;  or  the  literal  Hebrew,  "Mine  ears  hast 
thou  digged,"  which  might  mean  "ears  to  hear."  That  is 
the  old  scripture  idea ;  but  the  Septuagint  idea  is :  "And  a 
body  hast  thou  prepared  for  me."    And  that  agrees  with 


266     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

Luke  1 :  35 :  "The  Holy  Spirit  shall  come  upon  thee,  and 
the  power  of  the  Most  High  shall  overshadow  thee ;  where- 
fore also  the  holy  one  which  is  begotten  shall  be  called  the 
Son  of  God."  And  it  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  John  i : 
"And  the  Word  that  was  God  was  manifest  and  became 
flesh" — incarnate,  took  on  body.  And  it  is  in  perfect  accord 
with  what  we  have  already  found  in  Hebrews  2:  "Since 
then  the  children  are  sharers  in  flesh  and  blood.  He  also 
himself  in  like  manner  partook  of  the  same,  that  through 
His  death  He  might  bring  to  nought  him  that  had  the  power 
of  death,  that  is,  the  devil ;"  and  it  is  still  more  clearly  brought 
out  in  I  Peter,  where  he  says:  "Who  His  own  self  bare 
our  sins  in  His  body  upon  the  tree."  So  that  the  quotation 
from  the  Septuagint  gives  the  Spirit-idea:  "Sacrifices  and 
offerings  thou  wouldst  not,  but  a  body  didst  thou  prepare 
for  me."  According  to  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah:  "What 
unto  me  is  the  multitude  of  your  sacrifices  ?  saith  Jehovah : 
I  have  had  enough  of  the  burnt-offerings  of  rams,  and  the 
fat  of  fed  beasts ;  and  I  delight  not  in  the  blood  of  bullocks, 
or  of  lambs,  or  of  he-goats.  When  ye  come  to  appear  before 
me,  who  hath  required  this  at  your  hand,  to  trample  my 
courts  ?  Bring  no  more  vain  oblations ;  incense  is  an  abomi- 
nation unto  me;  new  moon  and  Sabbath,  the  calling  of 
assemblies, — I  cannot  away  with  the  iniquity  and  the  solemn 
meeting.  Your  new  moon  and  appointed  feasts  my  soul 
hateth ;  they  are  a  trouble  unto  me ;  I  am  weary  of  bearing 
them.  And  when  ye  spread  forth  your  hands,  I  will  hide 
mine  eyes  from  you;  yea,  when  ye  make  many  prayers,  I 
will  not  hear;  your  hands  are  full  of  blood"  (Isa.  i :  11-15). 
That  is  the  testimony  of  one  of  the  prophets.  David  in 
Psalm  40 :  "Sacrifice  and  offering  thou  hast  no  delight  in ; 
mine  ears  hast  thou  opened :  burnt-offering  and  sin-offering 
hast  thou  not  required.  Then  said  I,  Lo,  I  am  come ;  in  the 
roll  of  the  book  it  is  written  of  me ;  I  delight  to  do  thy  will, 
O  my  God." 


PROMISES  OF  THE  SURETY  267 

But  I  want  to  give  you  the  testimony  of  other  prophets, 
including  David  in  another  place,  as  to  the  relative  merit 
of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New  Testament  sacrifices. 
First,  Psalm  51 :  "For  thou  delightest  not  in  sacrifice,  else 
would  I  give  it;  thou  hast  no  pleasure  in  burnt-offerings. 
The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  spirit;  a  broken  and  a 
contrite  heart,  O  God,  thou  wilt  not  despise."  Note  here 
that  the  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  spirit  and  a  contrite 
heart.  Second,  a  passage  from  Samuel,  the  prophet  (I  Sam. 
15 :  22,  23)  :  "And  Samuel  said,  Hath  Jehovah  as  great 
delight  in  burnt-offerings  and  sacrifices,  as  in  obeying  the 
voice  of  Jehovah?  Behold,  to  obey  is  better  than  to  sacri- 
fice, and  to  hearken  than  the  fat  of  rams."  Samuel  is 
talking  to  Saul.  Third,  that  remarkable  prophecy  in  Jer. 
7 :  22 :  "For  I  spake  not  unto  your  fathers,  nor  commanded 
them  in  the  day  that  I  brought  them  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt,  concerning  burnt-offerings  or  sacrifices:  but  this 
thing  I  commanded  them,  saying,  Hearken  unto  my  voice, 
and  I  will  be  your  God,  and  ye  shall  be  my  people;  and 
walk  ye  in  all  the  way  that  I  command  you,  that  it  may 
be  well  with  you."  Fourth,  the  prophecy  from  Hos.  6:  6: 
"For  I  desire  goodness  and  not  sacrifice,  and  the  knowledge 
of  God  more  than  burnt-offerings.  But  they,  like  Adam, 
have  transgressed  the  covenant ;  there  have  they  dealt  treach- 
erously against  me."  Fifth,  the  passage  from  Micah  6 : 6-8 : 
"Wherewith  shall  I  come  before  Jehovah,  and  bow  myself 
before  the  high  God?  Shall  I  come  before  Him  with  burnt- 
offerings,  with  calves  a  year  old  ?  Will  Jehovah  be  pleased 
with  thousands  of  rams,  or  with  ten-thousands  of  rivers  of 
oil?  Shall  I  give  my  first-born  for  my  transgression,  the 
fruit  of  my  body  for  the  sin  of  my  soul  ?" 

My  object  is  to  foHov\r  out  the  thoughts  of  the  author  of 
Hebrews  here  in  order  to  shov>'  that  the  prophets  of  the 
Old  Testament,  who  were  the  true  spirtual  interpreters, 
understood  that  these   Old  Testament  offerings  were  to 


268     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

cease;  they  never  had  any  doubt  in  their  minds  about  it, 
and  indeed  some  higher  critics  contend  that  God  never  meant 
for  Moses  to  institute  sacrifices  at  all — in  which  the  higher 
critics  are  far  astray.  But  it  does  make  plain  this  point: 
That  there  was  preparation  of  mind  for  a  new  covenant, 
in  which  the  better  sacrifice  should  take  the  place  of  the 
shadowy  sacrifice  of  the  old  covenant. 

Let  us  look  at  Isa.  53  in  order  to  get  the  true  idea  of  the 
sacrifice ;  here  is  a  description  of  it : 

"For  He  grew  up  before  Him  as  a  tender  plant,  and  as  a  root  out 
of  the  dry  ground :  He  hath  no  form  nor  comeliness  and  when  we 
see  Him  there  is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire  Him.  He  was 
despised  and  rejected  of  men,  a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with 
grief,  and  as  one  from  whom  men  hide  their  face  He  was  despised, 
and  we  esteemed  Him  not.  Surely  He  hath  borne  our  grief  and  car- 
ried our  sorrows,  yet  we  did  not  esteem  Him  stricken,  smitten  of 
God,  and  afflicted.  But  He  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions ; 
He  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities ;  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was 
upon  Him,  and  with  His  stripes  we  are  healed.  All  we,  like  sheep, 
have  gone  astray,  we  have  turned  every  one  to  his  own  way,  and 
Jehovah  hath  laid  on  Him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.  He  was  oppressed, 
yet  when  He  was  afflicted  He  opened  not  His  mouth ;  as  a  lamb  that 
is  led  to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  that  before  His  shearers  is 
dumb,  so  He  opened  not  His  mouth.  By  oppression  and  judgment 
He  was  taken  away,  and  as  for  His  generation,  who  among  them 
consider  that  He  was  cut  off  out  of  the  land  of  the  living  for  the 
transgressions  of  my  people  to  whom  the  stroke  was  due?  And 
they  made  His  grave  with  the  wicked,  and  with  a  rich  man  in  His 
death;  although  He  had  done  no  violence,  neither  was  any  deceit 
in  His  mouth.  Yet  it  pleased  Jehovah  to  bruise  Him:  He  hath  put 
Him  to  grief :  when  thou  shalt  make  His  soul  an  offering  for  sin, 
He  shall  see  His  seed,  He  shall  prolong  His  days,  and  the  pleasure 
of  Jehovah  shall  prosper  in  His  hand.  He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of 
His  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied :  by  the  knowledge  of  himself  shall 
my  righteous  servant  justify  many;  and  He  shall  bear  their  iniqui- 
ties," Isa.  53:2-12. 

That  is  a  picture  of  Christ,  and  it  is  as  good  a  picture  of 
Him  as  one  who  lived  in  His  time  could  have  painted.  I 
present  one  other  idea  of  this  sacrifice — the  leading  sacrificial 
idea  of  the  old  covenant — the  festival  lamb,  or  Passover 
lamb,  whose  blood  was  sprinkled  on  the  door-posts  to  secure 
the  passing  over  of  the  angel  of  death.  In  I  Cor.  5 :  7  Paul 
says:    "Christ,  our  Passover  Lamb,  is  sacrificed  for  us/* 


PROMISES  OF  THE  SURETY     269 

and  in  John  i :  29,  John  the  Baptist  sees  Jesus  coming  and 
points  at  Him  and  says,  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh 
away  the  sins  of  the  world." 

A  last  thought  on  the  sacrifice  is  this — that  Christ's  offer- 
ing is  repeatedly  stated  in  this  book  to  be  once  for  all,  in 
contrast  with  the  year  by  year  sacrifices  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment; He  would  never  die  but  the  one  time.  He  would 
make  but  one  expiation  of  sin  by  His  death,  and  then  take 
a  seat  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high,  and  ever 
live  to  intercede  for  us. 

Just  here  I  must  call  attention  to  a  heresy  of  the  gravest 
character — the  Romanist  heresy  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Mass. 
They  say  that  whenever  their  priest  consecrates  the  wafer 
and  the  wine,  that  he  actually  creates  God,  and  that  in  the 
offering  of  that  wine  and  bread  there  is  a  real  sacrifice  of 
the  Son  of  God.  That  is  fixing  upon  Him  what  He  expressly 
declared  should  not  be — that  there  would  be  no  repetition 
of  this  sacrifice — that  it  was  to  be  once  for  all.  They  tell 
their  people  that  when  they  take  the  wafer  on  their  lips 
(the  priests  do  not  give  them  any  of  the  wine ;  they  just 
give  them  the  wafer)  that  they  masticate  God,  and  they 
base  it  upon  that  word  of  our  Lord  when  He  held  out  the 
bread :  "This  is  my  body,  broken  for  you,"  whereas,  there 
is  no  clearer  meaning  of  the  verb  "to  be"  than  the  sense  of 
represent.  For  instance,  in  Genesis,  Joseph  says,  "The  seven 
lean  kine  and  the  seven  poor  ears  of  corn  which  you  dreamed 
about,  are  seven  years  of  famine."  There  is  the  verb  "to  be" 
— "are"  that  is,  they  represent  seven  years  of  famine.  When 
I  go  into  a  picture  gallery  and  say,  "This  is  Washington,  that 
is  Webster,  that  is  Henry  Clay,"  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that 
my  word  creates  these  men,  but  that  the  pictures  represent 
thert\. 

/  do  not  know  of  any  other  heresy  equal  to  this  one. 

And  they  expressly  declare  that  whoever  denies  that  that 
action  of  the  priest  does  create  God,  and  that  whoever  denies 


270     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

that  there  is  a  real  sacrifice  of  Christ  every  time  the  priest 
consecrates  these  elements,  will  not  be  saved.  And  they 
expressly  declare  in  the  Council  of  Trent  that  no  man  can 
be  saved  who  does  not  believe  what  they  teach  on  this  subject. 

That  is  what  is  called  trans-substantiation — a  change  of 
substance.  Trans-substantiation — that  is  the  name  of  their 
doctrine — that  there  is  in  the  elements  of  bread  and  wine 
a  real  person  and  blood,  hence  they  carry  these  elements 
in  procession,  and  they  teach  that  as  they  carry  them,  who- 
ever does  not  kneel  down  and  worship  them  sins  against  the 
Holy  Ghost.  That  is  what  is  called  the  "Procession  of  the 
Host,"  which  one  must  adore  as  God,  and  if  he  does  not 
believe  that,  he  will  go  to  hell.  That  is  the  teaching  of 
every  Romanist  in  the  world. 

The  Lutheran  doctrine  also  contradicts  the  statement  here 
of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  once  for  all.  Luther  denies  that 
there  is  a  change  of  substance.  He  calls  his  doctrine  "Con- 
substantiation" — not  trans-substantiation.  He  says  that  every 
time  the  Lord's  Supper  is  observed  there  is  in  the  elements 
the  real  presence  of  God,  and  His  favorite  illustration  is 
this:  "I  take  a  piece  of  iron — cold,  dark  iron — and  put  it 
into  the  fire,  I  do  not  change  the  substance,  but  when  I  take 
it  out  there  is  something  in  it  that  was  not  in  it  before — and 
that  is  heat — and  it  looks  different  from  what  it  did  before ; 
so  it  is  practically  the  same  thing."  And  Luther  bases  his 
arguments  upon  exactly  the  same  scripture,  thus :  "  This  is 
my  body.'  When  we  consecrate  the  bread,  there  enters 
a  real  presence  of  a  person  that  was  not  in  it  before,  just 
like  putting  the  iron  into  the  fire  puts  heat  into  it  that  was 
not  in  it  before."  And  this  doctrine  of  Luther  split  the 
Reformation  into  the  German  camp  and  the  Genevan  or 
French  camp.  The  Huguenots  denied  the  doctrine  of  con- 
substantiation  on  the  principle  of  Christ's  sacrifice  once  for 
all.  The  Prince  of  Hesse  Cassel  was  very  much  disturbed 
over  the  divisions  of  the  Protestants,  so  he  invited  Luther 


PROMISES  OF  THE  SURETY  S71 

and  Melancthon  on  one  side,  and  Zwingli  and  Ecolampadius 
on  the  other  side,  to  meet  in  his  palace  and  discuss  this  until 
they  could  come  together — and  they  were  about  like  some 
juries — the  longer  they  discussed  it  the  wider  apart  they 
were.  So  in  order  to  keep  down  a  row,  Philip  of  Hesse, 
knowing  that  Zwingli  was  fiery  and  that  Luther  was  fiery, 
put  Ecolampadius  to  debate  with  Luther,  and  put  Melanc- 
thon to  debate  with  Zwingli.  But,  after  they  had  debated 
for  a  while,  the  two  fiery  men  left  their  mild  opponents 
and  rushed  up  to  each  other.  Luther  said,  "I  affirm,  in  the 
words  of  the  Bible :  'This  is  my  body,'  "  to  which  Zwingli 
replied:  "You  quote  a  Latin  translation,  and  I  oppose  it 
with  the  doctrine:  Ascendit  in  Coclum;  His  body  cannot 
be  in  two  places  at  the  same  time."  They  had  a  time  of  it. 
That  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  incidents  of  the  Reforma- 
tion— that  fight  between  Zwingli  and  Luther. 


QUESTIONS 

1.  Explain  the  surety  of  the  new  covenant. 

2.  What  Webster's  definition  of  "surety,"  and  what  his  illustra- 
tion of  its  use? 

3.  Under  what  conditions   is  the  legal  phase  of  this   subject 
strongest,  and  how  does  Paul  illustrate  this  thought? 

4.  What  bearing  has  this  on  the  remission  of  the  sins  of  O.  T. 
saints  ? 

5.  What  the  article  of  faith  in  the  old  Philadelphia  confession 
of  faith  on  this  point? 

6.  State  and  elaborate  two  heresies  arising  at  this  point. 

7.  What  the  second  idea  of  suretyship,  and  what  the  N.  T. 
scriptures  proving  it? 

8.  What  O.  T.  scriptures  bear  on  the  idea  of  the  surety? 

9.  Explain  "the  shadow,"  or  "the  pattern,"  or  "copy,"  character- 
istic of  the  old  covenant,  and  cite  a  poetic  illustration  (10:  i). 

10.  Expound  Heb.  10:  1-14,  bringing  out  clearly  the  dignity  and 
intrinsic  merit  of  the  one  great  vicarious  sacrifice  of  the  new  cove- 
nant, citing  parallel  passages  in  both  Testaments. 

11.  Apply  the  logic  of  10 :  4  to  the  doctrine  of  baptismal  remission 
or  other  sacramental  means  of  salvation,  and  cite  the  Campbellite 
and  Romanist  views. 

12.  What  distinct  ofRce  of  our  Lord  involved  in  Heb.  10:  5-7? 

13.  What  the  striking  testimony  of  the  prophets  on  the  inefificacy 
and  transitory  character  of  the  sin-offerings  of  the  old  covenant? 


g7a     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

14.  Where  do  we  get  the  true  idea  of  sacrifice  in  the  O.  T.,  and 
how  is  it  expressed  there? 

15.  What  the  great  type  of  the  one  sacrifice  in  the  Pentateuch, 
and  what  the  N.  T.  identification  of  it? 

16.  What  New  Testament  festival  of  the  altar  (Heb.  13:10) 
commemorating  this  one  sacrifice,  and  where,  in  another  letter,  does 
Paul  enforce  this  close  communion? 

17.  What  the  difference  in  effect  on  sins  between  the  one  sacri- 
fice, once  for  all,  of  the  new  covenant,  and  the  many  sacrifices,  oft 
repeated,  of  the  old  covenant? 

18.  Apply  the  logic  of  10 :  12-14  to  the  Romanist  Transubstanti- 
ation  and  the  Lutheran  Consubstantiation,  and  cite  on  the  latter  the 
debate  between  Luther  and  Zwingli. 


XXIV 

PROMISES   OF  THE  NEW  COVENANT 

Scripture:  Heb.  8 : 6 — lo :  39 

THE  fourth  promise  of  the  new  covenant  is  that  all 
Christians  shall  be  priests  unto  God,  and  shall  directly 
offer  to  Him  spiritual,  non-expiatory  sacrifices,  any- 
where, at  any  time,  and  in  all  places.  The  negative  value 
of  this  promise  is  itself  incalculable.  It  forever  sets  aside 
and  dispenses  with : 

1.  The  old  covenant's  on^ /j/ac^  of  meeting  God.  Whether 
tabernacle,  temple,  earthly  Jerusalem,  or  land  of  Canaan, 
their  mission  and  sanctity  are  ended  forever.  Holiness  no 
longer  attaches  to  any  of  them.  All  are  as  empty  as  the 
sepulchre  of  our  Lord.  The  efforts  of  the  Crusades  to 
recover  a  city  and  land  no  longer  holy  was  a  foolish  quest. 
As  says  our  Lord  himself  to  the  woman  of  Samaria: 
"Woman,  believe  me,  the  hour  cometh,  when  neither  in  this 
mountain  (i.e.,  Gerizim,  the  site  of  the  Samaritan  temple) 
nor  in  Jerusalem  shall  ye  worship  the  Father  *  *  *  The 
hour  cometh,  and  now  is,  when  the  true  worshipers  shall 
worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  truth:  for  such  doth  the 
Father  seek  to  be  His  worshipers.  God  is  a  Spirit:  and 
they  that  worship  Him  must  worship  in  spirit  and  truth," 
John  4:21-24. 

2.  It  dispenses  with  all  the  third  party — human  go- 
betweens — that  officiated  between  the  soul  and  its  God.  The 
Greek  and  Romanist  priestly  hierarchies  of  human  go- 
betweens,  and  all  their  imitations  in  other  denominations, 

^73 


274     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

are  sinful  degenerations  into  the  obsolete  and  superseded 
old  covenant. 

3.  It  sets  aside  all  the  doctrines  of  consubstantiation  and 
transubstantiation,  which  in  any  form  affirms  and  repeats 
and  adores  a  real  expiatory  sacrifice  in  the  memorial  supper 
of  our  Lord,  or  attaches  saving  efficacy  to  the  memorial  rite 
of  baptisrn.  In  other  words,  connecting  two  and  three,  it 
sweeps  away  the  whole  system  of  sacerdotalism  which  makes 
the  office  of  a  human  third  party  necessary  to  the  salvation 
of  the  sinner. 

4.  All  the  Old  Testament  Sabbatic  cycle,  whether  7th 
day,  lunar,  annual,  7th  year,  or  50th  year — the  limited  fixed 
times  in  which  to  come  before  the  Lord. 

5.  All  the  Old  Testament  non-expiating  sacrifices. 

6.  Israel  according  to  the  flesh  as  the  people  of  God. 

POSITIVELY 

I.  It  affirms  a  spiritual  Israel,  every  one  of  whom  is  a 
priest  unto  God.  In  the  book  of  Hebrews  this  doctrine  is 
embodied  in  the  phrase :  "church  of  the  first-born"  (12 :  23), 
which  means  that  the  Old  Testament  type,  which  gave  to 
the  first-born  of  a  family  the  right  of  primogeniture,  includ- 
ing the  authority  of  priesthood,  and  which  was  exchanged 
for  the  tribe  of  Levi,  is  fulfilled  in  each  one  born  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  under  the  new  covenant.  In  other  words,  every 
one  born  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  a  priest  who  may  at  all  times 
in  all  places  and  under  all  emergencies  go  for  himself  directly 
to  God. 

The  doctrine  of  this  new  and  spiritual  Israel — a  people 
for  God's  own  possession — is  elsewhere  presented  by  Paul, 
II  Cor.  6: 17 — 7:  i  and  Titus  2:  14.  Here  the  language  of 
Peter  is  the  most  explicit:  "Ye,  as  living  stones,  are  built 
up  a  spiritual  house  to  be  a  holy  priesthood,  to  offer  up 
spiritual  sacrifices  acceptable  to  God  through  Jesus  Christ 
*  *  *  Ye  are  an  elect  race,  a  royal  priesthood,  a  holy  na- 


THE  NEW  COVENANT  PROMISES        275 

tion,  a  people  for  God's  own  possession,  that  ye  may  show 
forth  the  excellencies  of  Him  who  called  you  out  of  dark- 
ness into  His  marvelous  light."  To  these  we  may  add: 
"And  He  made  us  to-be  a  kingdom,  to  be  priests  unto  His 
God  and  Father;  to  Him  be  the  glory  and  dominion  for- 
ever and  ever.  Amen,"  Rev.  i ;  6.  "And  makest  them  to 
be  unto  our  God  a  kingdom  and  priests,  and  they  reign 
upon  the  earth,"  Rev.  5:10.  "Blessed  is  he  that  hath  part 
in  the  first  resurrection;  over  these  the  second  death  hath 
no  power,  but  they  shall  be  priests  of  God  and  of  Christ, 
and  shall  reign  with  Him  a  thousand  years,"  Rev.  20 : 6. 
2.  The  Spiritual  Sacrifices  of  the  New  Covenant : 

(a)  Our  own  selves :  "I  beseech  you,  therefore,  brethren, 
by  the  mercies  of  God,  to  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacri- 
fice, holy,  acceptable  to  God,  which  is  your  spiritual  service." 
And  concerning  the  Macedonians  Paul  says,  "And  this,  not 
as  we  had  hoped,  but  first  they  gave  their  own  selves  unto 
the  Lord,  and  to  us  through  the  will  of  God,"  H  Cor.  8 :  5. 

(b)  Contribution  to  Christ  in  His  cause  and  people.  We 
recall  the  case  of  the  Philippians :  "And  ye  yourselves  also 
know,  ye  Philippians,  that  in  the  beginning  of  the  gospel, 
when  I  departed  from  Macedonia,  no  church  had  fellow- 
ship with  me  in  the  matter  of  giving  and  receiving  but  ye 
only ;  for  even  in  Thessalonica  ye  sent  once  and  again  unto 
my  need.  Not  that  I  seek  for  the  gift,  but  I  seek  for  the 
fruit  that  increaseth  to  your  account.  But  I  have  all  things 
and  abound :  I  am  filled,  having  received  from  Epaphroditus 
the  things  that  come  from  you,  an  odor  of  a  sweet  smell,  a 
sacrifice  acceptable,  well  pleasing  to  God,"  Phil.  4: 15-18. 

(c)  The  testimony  of  this  letter:  "Through  Him  then 
let  us  offer  up  a  sacrifice  of  praise  to  God  continually,  that  is 
the  fruit  of  lips  which  make  confession  to  His  name.  But 
to  do  good,  and  to  communicate  forget  not,  for  with  such 
sacrifices  God  is  well  pleased,"  Heb.  13:  15,  16. 

(d)  All  the  testimonies  from  the  prophets  introduced  in 


276     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

the  last  chapter  (See  Job  17: 3;  Psa.  119: 122;  Isa.  38: 14; 
I  Sam.  15:22;  Psa.  51: 16,  17;  Isa.  i:  11-17;  Jer.  7:21-23; 
Hos.  6:6;  Micah6:6-8). 

But  this  idea  of  the  priesthood  of  all  Christians  is  so 
closely  associated  with  another  thought  that  we  cannot  sepa- 
rate them.  One  of  the  passages  cited  says,  "A  royal  priest- 
hood;" another  says,  "He  has  made  us  a  kingdom  and 
priests,"  while  this  letter  says,  in  commenting  on  the  service 
of  the  Christian  priesthood,  "Wherefore,  receiving  a  king- 
dom that  cannot  be  shaken,  let  us  have  grace,  whereby  we 
may  offer  service  well  pleasing  to  God  with  reverence  and 
awe."  Everything  relating  to  the  old  covenant  was  shaken, 
and  soon,  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  would  pass  away 
forever.  But  this  royal  priesthood  would  continue — ^this 
kingdom  would  never  be  moved.  As  Daniel  prophesied,  the 
kingdom  set  up  by  the  God  of  heaven  would  be  an  ever- 
lasting kingdom  and  would  never  pass  to  another  people. 
Or,  as  our  Lord  expresses  it :  "The  gates  of  hell  shall  never 
prevail  against  the  church  He  established.  These  priests 
are  all  kings,  and  their  kingdom  is  eternal. 

The  fifth  great  promise  of  the  new  covenant  is  the  final 
advent  of  our  Lord  to  raise  the  dead  and  judge  the  world. 
The  passages  in  this  letter  are  very  striking:  "So  Christ 
also,  having  been  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many, 
shall  appear  a  second  time,  apart  from  sin,  to  them  that  wait 
for  Him  unto  salvation." 

1.  On  this  passage  particularly  note  the  negative:  "apart 
from  sin,"  i.e.,  not  this  last  time  as  a  sin-offering.  That 
was  the  object  of  His  first  advent.  There  is  no  gospel  to 
be  preached  after  this  final  advent — no  intercession — for 
He  vacates  the  mediatorial  throne  and  the  high  priest- 
advocacy. 

2.  "Not  forsaking  our  own  assembling  together,  as  the 
custom  of  some  is,  but  exhorting  one  another,  and  so  much 
the  more  as  ye  see  the  day  drawing  nigh.  *  *  *     For  ye 


THE  NEW  COVENANT  PROMISES        277 

have  need  of  patience,  that,  having  done  the  will  of  God, 
ye  may  receive  the  promise,"  Heb.  lo :  25-37. 

Here  the  speediness  of  His  coming  is  emphasized,  as  in 
very  many  other  New  Testament  passages.  But  it  is  not 
"quickly"  as  man  counts,  but  "quickly"  as  He  counts,  "with 
whom  a  thousand  years  is  as  a  day."    As  Peter  declares : 

"Knowing  this  first,  that  in  the  last  days  mockers  shall  come  with 
mockery,  walking  after  their  own  lusts,  and  saying,  Where  is  the 
promise  of  His  coming?  for  from  the  day  that  the  fathers  fell  asleep, 
all  things  continue  as  they  were  from  the  beginning  of  the  creation. 
For  this  they  wilfully  forget,  that  there  were  heavens  from  of  old, 
and  an  earth  compacted  out  of  water  and  amidst  water,  by  the  Word 
of  God  by  which  means  the  world  that  then  was,  being  overflowed 
with  water,  perished :  but  the  heavens  that  now  are,  and  the  earth, 
by  the  same  Word,  have  been  stored  up  for  fire,  being  reserved 
against  the  day  of  judgment  and  destruction  of  ungodly  men.  But 
forget  not  this  one  thing,  beloved,  that  one  day  is  with  the  Lord  as 
a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day.  The  Lord  is  not 
slack  concerning  His  promise,  as  some  count  slackness ;  but  is  long- 
suffering  to  you-ward,  not  wishing  that  any  should  perish,  but  that 
all  should  come  to  repentance.  But  the  day  of  the  Lord  will  come  as 
a  thief ;  in  the  which  the  heavens  shall  pass  away  with  a  great  noise, 
and  the  elements  shall  be  dissolved  with  a  fervent  heat,  and  the 
earth  and  the  works  that  are  therein  shall  be  burned  up.  Seeing  that 
these  things  are  thus  all  to  be  dissolved,  what  manner  of  persons 
ought  ye  to  be  in  all  holy  living  and  godliness,  looking  for  and  ear- 
nestly desiring  the  coming  of  the  day  of  God,  by  reason  of  which  the 
heavens  being  on  fire  shall  be  dissolved,  and  the  elements  shall  melt 
with  fervent  heat?  But  according  to  His  promise,  we  look  for  new 
heavens  and  a  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness,"  II  Pet. 
3:3-13. 

It  was  the  apparent  tardiness  of  His  coming,  as  men 
judged,  that  was  tempting  these  Asia-Minor  Jews  to  apos- 
tatize. And  it  is  in  this  very  connection  and  on  this  precise 
point  that  Peter  bears  the  direct  testimony  of  Paul's  author- 
ship to  this  letter :  "And  account  that  the  long  suffering  of 
our  Lord  is  salvation ;  even  as  our  beloved  brother  Paul  also, 
according  to  the  wisdom  given  to  him,  wrote  unto  you,"  H 
Pet.  3:15. 

3.  He  comes  in  His  last  office,  not  as  a  prophet,  sacrifice, 
priest,  and  not  even  as  king  to  continue  His  mediatorial 
session  at  God's  right  hand,  for  He  will  turn  over  the  king- 


278     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

dom  to  the  Father  (I  Cor.  15 :  24,  25),  but  He  comes  as  judge 
to  wind  up  earth's  affairs. 

(a)  In  the  dissolution  of  the  material  universe:  "And 
thou,  Lord,  in  the  beginning,  didst  lay  the  foundation  of  the 
earth,  and  the  heavens  are  the  works  of  thy  hands:  they 
shall  perish,  but  thou  continuest;  and  they  shall  wax  old 
as  doth  a  garment;  and  as  a  mantle  shalt  thou  roll  them 
up,  as  a  garment,  and  they  shall  be  changed ;  but  thou  art 
the  same,  and  thy  years  shall  not  fail,"  Heb.  i :  10-12.  "But 
immediately  after  the  tribulation  of  those  days  the  sun  shall 
be  darkened,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light,  and  the 
stars  shall  fall  from  heaven,  and  the  powers  of  the  heavens 
shall  be  shaken,"  Matt.  24 :  29.  "And  I  saw  a  great  white 
throne,  and  Him  that  sat  upon  it,  from  whose  face  the  earth 
and  heaven  fled  away,  and  there  was  found  no  place  for 
them"  (Rev.  20:  11)  ;  and  particularly:  "But  the  heavens 
that  now  are  and  the  earth,  by  the  same  word,  have  been 
stored  up  for  fire,  being  reserved  against  the  day  of  judg- 
ment and  destruction  of  ungodly  men.  *  *  *  But  the  day 
of  the  Lord  will  come  as  a  thief,  in  which  the  heavens  will 
pass  away  with  a  great  noise,  and  the  elements  shall  be  dis- 
solved with  fervent  heat,  and  the  earth  and  the  works  that 
are  therein  shall  be  burned  up,"  H  Pet.  3:7,  10. 

(b)  In  the  everlasting  punishment  of  the  wicked:  "For 
if  we  sin  wilfully  after  that  we  have  received  the  knowledge 
of  the  truth,  there  remaineth  no  more  a  sacrifice  for  sins, 
but  a  certain  fearful  expectation  of  judgment  and  a  fierceness 
of  fire  which  shall  devour  the  adversaries.  A  man  that  hath 
set  at  naught  Moses'  law  dieth  without  compassion  on  the 
word  of  two  or  three  witnesses ;  of  how  much  sorer  punish- 
ment, think  ye,  shall  he  be  judged  worthy,  who  hath  trodden 
under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  hath  counted  the  blood  of 
the  covenant  wherewith  he  was  sanctified  an  unholy  thing, 
and  hath  done  despite  unto  the  Spirit  of  grace?  For  we 
know  Him  that  said :  Vengeance  belongeth  unto  me,  I  will 


THE  NEW  COVENANT  PROMISES        279 

recompense.  And  again,  The  Lord  shall  judge  His  people. 
It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God," 
Heb.  10:26-31. 

"For  the  land  which  hath  drunk  the  rain  that  cometh 
oft  upon  it,  and  bringeth  forth  herbs  meet  for  them  for 
whose  sake  it  is  also  tilled,  receiveth  blessings  from  God; 
but  if  it  beareth  thorns  and  thistles,  it  is  rejected  and  nigh 
unto  a  curse ;  whose  end  is  to  be  burned,"  Heb.  6\y,  8. 
"How  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect  so  great  a  salvation? 
which  having  at  first  been  spoken  through  the  Lord,  was 
confirmed  unto  us  by  them  that  heard,"  Heb.  2 : 3.  "See 
that  ye  refuse  not  him  that  speaketh.  For  if  they  escaped 
not  when  they  refused  him  that  warned  them  on  earth, 
much  more  shall  not  we  escape  who  turn  away  from  Him 
that  warneth  from  heaven:  whose  voice  then  shook  the 
earth,  but  now  He  hath  promised,  saying.  Yet  once  more 
will  I  make  to  tremble  not  the  earth  only,  but  also  the 
heaven.  *  *  *  For  our  God  is  a  consuming  fire,"  Heb. 
12 :  25,  26,  29. 

4.  In  the  better  resurrection  of  the  righteous :  "Women 
received  their  dead  by  a  resurrection :  and  others  were  tor- 
tured, not  accepting  their  deliverance ;  that  they  might  obtain 
a  better  resurrection"  (Heb.  11 :  35),  and  the  consummation 
of  their  salvation :  "For  not  unto  angels  did  He  subject  the 
world  to  come,  whereof  we  speak.  *  *  *  And  again  I  will 
put  my  trust  in  Him.  And  again.  Behold,  I  and  the  chil- 
dren God  hath  given  me.  *  *  *  For  ye  have  need  of  pa- 
tience, that,  having  done  the  will  of  God,  ye  may  receive 
the  promise,"  Heb.  2:5,  13;  10:  36.  On  two  and  three  as 
simultaneous :  "The  men  of  Nineveh  shall  stand  up  in  the 
judgment  with  this  generation  and  shall  condemn  it;  for 
they  repented  at  the  preaching  of  Jonah;  and  behold,  a 
greater  than  Jonah  is  here.  The  queen  of  the  South  shall 
rise  up  in  the  judgment  with  this  generation  and  shall  con- 
demn it,  for  she  came  from  the  ends  of  the  earth  to  hear 


^80     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

the  wisdom  of  Solomon :  and  behold,  a  greater  than  Solomon 
is  here,"  Matt.  12 :  41,  42.  "But  when  the  Son  of  man  shall 
come  in  His  glory,  and  all  the  angels  with  Him,  then  shall 
He  sit  on  the  throne  of  His  glory ;  and  before  Him  shall  be 
gathered  all  the  nations;  and  He  shall  separate  them  one 
from  another,  as  the  shepherd  separateth  the  sheep  from 
the  goats;  and  He  shall  set  the  sheep  on  His  right  hand, 
but  the  goats  on  the  left.  Then  shall  the  King  say  unto 
them  on  His  right  hand:  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father, 
inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world.  *  *  *  Then  shall  He  say  also  unto  them  on 
His  left  hand,  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  the  eternal 
fire  which  is  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels.  *  *  * 
And  these  shall  go  away  into  eternal  punishment;  and  the 
righteous  into  eternal  life,"  Matt.  25 :  31-46.  "And  to  you 
that  are  afflicted  rest  with  us,  at  the  revelation  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  from  heaven  with  the  angels  of  His  power  in 
flaming  fire,  rendering  vengeance  to  them  that  know  not 
God,  and  to  them  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord 
Jesus:  who  shall  suffer  punishment,  even  eternal  destruc- 
tion from  the  face  of  the  Lord  and  from  the  glory  of  His 
might,  when  He  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  His  saints,  and 
to  be  marvelled  at  in  all  them  that  believed  (because  our 
testimony  unto  you  was  believed)  in  that  day,"  H  Thess. 
1 : 7-10.  "And  I  saw  a  great  white  throne,  and  Him  that 
sat  upon  it,  from  whose  face  the  earth  and  the  heavens  fled 
away ;  and  there  was  found  no  place  for  them.  And  I  saw 
the  dead,  the  great  and  the  small,  standing  before  the  throne ; 
and  books  were  opened ;  and  another  book  was  opened,  which 
was  the  book  of  life,  and  the  dead  were  judged  out  of  the 
things  which  were  written  in  the  books,  according  to  their 
works.  And  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead  that  were  in  it,  and 
death  and  hades  gave  up  the  dead  that  were  in  them,  and  they 
were  judged  every  man  according  to  their  works.  And 
death  and  hades  were  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire.    And  if  any 


THE  NEW  COVENANT  PROMISES         281 

was  not  found  written  in  the  book  of  life,  he  was  cast  into 
the  lake  of  fire,"  Rev.  20: 11-15. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  What  the  fourth  promise  of  the  new  covenant? 

2.  What  the  negative  value  of  this  promise? 

3.  What  its  positive  value  ? 

4.  What  passage  in  the  book  affirms  the  first  element  of  positive 
value  ? 

5.  Cite  passages  from  other  New  Testament  books  supporting 
this  view? 

6.  What  new  and  additional  idea  attaches  to  this  priesthood, 
what  the  proof  of  it,  and  what  the  conclusion  therefrom? 

7.  What  the  spiritual  sacrifices  offered  by  this  new  priesthood? 

8.  What  the  fifth  great  promise  of  the  new  covenant? 

9.  What  passage  shows  the  negative  object  of  His  coming,  and 
what  the  explanation  of  it? 

10.  Cite  the  passages  which  emphasize  the  speediness  of  His 
coming  ? 

11.  Is  this  a  speediness  in  man's  sight  or  God's  sight,  and  what 
the  proof  from  Peter? 

12.  Prove  from  Peter  on  this  point  that  Paul  wrote  the  Letter  to 
the  Hebrews. 

13.  In  what  offices  does  He  not  come,  and  the  resultant  doctrines? 

14.  In  what  office  does  He  come? 

15.  What,  without  citing  passages,  the  three  objects  of  His  final 
advent  ? 

16.  What  passage  in  this  book  shows  the  effect  of  His  coming  on 
the  material  universe,  and  what  correlative  passages  from  other 
books  ? 

17.  What  passages  from  this  book  show  that  He  comes  to  judge 
and  punish  the  wicked  ? 

18.  What  the  passages  in  this  book  which  show  that  He  comes 
for  the  consummation  of  the  salvation  of  the  righteous? 

19.  Cite  passages  from  other  New  Testament  books  that  the  sal- 
vation in  glory  of  the  righteous  is  simultaneous  with  the  everlasting 
punishment  of  the  wicked. 

20.  In  view  of  the  fourth  promise,  will  there  ever  be  a  restora- 
tion of  the  Jews,  as  Jews,  and  a  restoration  of  the  earthly  Jerusalem 
and  its  temple  worship? 

21.  What  then,  is  the  meaning  of  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  as  a 
nation? 


XXV 

THE  HEROES  OF  FAITH 
Scripture:  Heb.  ii :  i — 12: 17 

ALL  the  great  heroes  of  the  past  achieved  their  glory 
and  immortality  by  faith,  the  distinctive  and  conquer- 
ing principle  of  the  new  covenant,  which  especially 
laid  hold  upon  new  covenant  promises.  Indeed,  this  section 
is  introduced  by  a  reference  to  the  fifth  great  promise  of  the 
new  covenant  just  discussed.  Chapter  10  closes  thus:  "For 
ye  have  need  of  patience,  that,  having  done  the  will  of  God, 
ye  may  receive  the  promise.  For  yet  a  little  while,  He  that 
Cometh  shall  come,  and  shall  not  tarry.  But  my  righteous 
one  shall  live  by  faith ;  and  if  he  shrink  back,  my  soul  hath 
no  pleasure  in  him.  But  we  are  not  one  of  them  that  shrink 
back  unto  perdition;  but  of  them  that  have  faith  unto  the 
saving  of  the  soul,"  Heb.  10 :  36-39. 

Here  is  the  promise — the  speedy  coming  of  the  Lord. 
Here  especially  they  have  need  of  patience.  These  Asia- 
Minor  Jews  were  suffering  great  afflictions,  trials  and  perse- 
cutions. Their  oft  promised  Lord  delayed  His  coming  to 
deliver  them.  They  were  tempted  to  give  up  all  hope  of  the 
promise.  The  exhortation  is  that  a  justified  man  must  live 
by  faith.  If  he  shrink  back  God  has  no  pleasure  in  him — 
that  a  true  Christian  does  not  shrink  back  unto  perdition,  but 
has  faith  unto  the  saving  of  his  soul. 

To  illustrate  his  thought,  Paul  calls  the  roll  of  their  illus- 
trious dead  and  shows  their  patience  of  faith  and  their  stead- 
fastness, not  only  under  greater  trials  than  any  of  these 
people  were  subjected  to,  but  held  on  unswervingly,  though 


THE  HEROES  OF  FAITH  283 

they  knew  that  the  promise  would  never  be  fullilled  in  their 
day.  He  appeals  to  heroic  history.  History  not  only  teaches 
lessons  and  imposes  obligations,  but  summons  all  the  mighty 
dead  as  witnesses  of  the  present,  and  encouragers  to  present 
fidelity.  The  author  of  Hebrews  has  that  creative  faculty — 
the  imagination — and  makes  the  history  live  before  us.  The 
heroes  are  quickened,  come  out  of  their  graves,  and  as  sym- 
pathetic spectators,  crowd  the  amphitheatre  of  our  race- 
course. They  beckon,  they  clap  their  hands,  they  wave  their 
crowns  and  shout:  "Don't  faint!  Don't  fall!  Come  on! 
Come  on,  and  win  the  race !" 

He  opens  the  discussion,  not  so  much  with  a  technical 
definition  of  faith  as  a  description  of  its  nature :  "Faith  gives 
substance  to  things  hoped  for."  That  is  his  first  idea.  Let 
us  illustrate :  A  debtor  offers  in  payment  of  his  debt  a  cer- 
tified check  for  the  amount  due.  That  check  is  not  money, 
but  serves  as  money.  The  creditor's  acceptance  of  the  check 
gives  substance  to  it.  He  knows  the  bank  on  which  it  is 
drawn  and  the  trustworthiness  of  the  cashier's  certificate. 
The  debtor  does  not  need  to  show  him  the  bullion  in  the  bank 
that  makes  it  good.  A  promise  that  is  adequately  assured 
and  guaranteed  may  be  used  as  cash  in  the  money  market. 
So  the  future  things  promised  in  the  new  covenant,  like  the 
coming  of  our  Lord,  excite  our  hopes,  and  faith,  resting  on 
the  guaranty  of  the  promise,  gives  present  substance  to  the 
things  hoped  for.  By  faith  thus  exercised,  the  powers  of 
the  world  to  come  are  here. 

His  second  idea  is  that  faith  is  a  conviction  of  things 
unseen.  The  invisible  thing  may  be  past,  present,  or  future. 
But  God's  word  certifies  its  reality.  Faith  takes  God  at  His 
word  and  is  a  conviction  that  the  word  is  true,  though  not 
demonstrable  to  the  carnal  senses.  We  may  not  see  it — for 
faith  walks  not  by  sight — it  may  not  be  audible  nor  pal- 
pable, but  God  said  it,  and  it's  true.  In  all  the  examples  to  be 
cited  one  or  the  other  of  these  ideas  of  faith  is  evident. 


284?     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

His  third  idea  is  that  God  himself  bears  witness  whenever 
such  faith  is  exercised,  and  this  divine  witness-bearing, 
realized  in  our  experience,  is  a  confirmation,  or  assurance, 
to  the  believer  which  justifies  his  faith  and  gives  experi- 
mental rest  and  peace  to  him,  for  as  says  the  text  "Therein 
the  elders  had  witness  borne  to  them." 

His  fourth  idea  is  that — 

Such  faith  confers  an  earthly  immortality:  "By  it,  he  being 
dead,  yet  speaketh"  That  voice  never  becomes  silent.  Faith 
makes  the  believer  an  orator,  a  poet,  a  prophet  forever.  The 
voices  of  unbelief  die  utterly  away. 

In  this  glorious  chapter  we  shall  see  other  virtues  of  faith : 

1.  In  two  cases  it  has  secured  translation  over  the  river  of 
death,  and  will  again,  on  a  mightier  scale  at  our  Lord's 
coming. 

2.  It  always  pleases  God,  and  without  it  God  cannot  be 
pleased. 

3.  It  brings  salvation — sometimes  temporal,  always 
eternal. 

4.  It  both  conquers  and  condemns  the  world. 

5.  It  sustains  under  a  privation  or  torture. 

6.  It  is  a  spiritual  telescope,  bringing  the  invisible  and 
heavenly  world  into  clear  view,  and  the  spiritual  microscope 
discerning  God's  providence  in  the  fall  of  a  sparrow. 

7.  It  confers  potency  on  impotency. 

8.  It  staggers  not  in  unbelief,  though  the  dead  must  be 
raised  to  fulfill  the  promise. 

9.  It  has  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  foretelling  future  events. 
ID.  It  is  the  principle  by  which  great  decisions  are  made. 

11.  It  divests  of  all  fear  except  the  fear  of  God. 

12.  It  is  the  principle  of  obedience,  progress,  and  sancti- 
fication. 

13.  It  overcomes  the  insuperable  and  achieves  the  impos- 
sible. It  passes  seas  and  rivers  dry-shod,  crumbles  the  walls 
of  hostile  cities,  subdues  kingdoms,  obtains  promises,  stops 


THE  HEROES  OF  FAITH  285 

the  mouths  of  lions,  quenches  the  power  of  fire,  escapes  the 
sword,  waxes  vaUant  in  fight,  accepts  spoHation  of  goods, 
wanders  unawed  in  mountains,  and  sleeps  undisturbed  in 
dens  and  caves  of  the  earth. 

14.  It  understands  origins,  and  destinies,  and  the  super- 
natural— all  beyond  the  ken,  and  outside  the  realm  of  human 
science  and  philosophy. 

15.  It  controls  the  life,  being  the  eye  and  ear  and  hand  and 
heart  of  the  soul. 

We  now  take  up,  in  order,  the  cited  examples  of  its  power : 
I .  "By  it  we  understood  that  the  worlds  have  been  framed 
by  the  word  of  God,  so  that  what  is  seen  hath  not  been  made 
out  of  things  which  appear."  That  is,  it  learns  more  in  the 
first  sentence  of  the  Bible  than  all  human  science  and  phi- 
losophy ever  discovered,  towit :  "In  the  beginning  God  cre- 
ated the  heavens  and  the  earth."  To  create  is  to  bring  into 
being  without  the  use  of  pre-existing  material.  That  one 
sentence  answers  all  atheism,  pantheism,  stoicism,  Epicurian- 
ism,  agnosticism,  materialism.  In  this  first  example  "faith 
is  the  conviction  of  things  unseen."  No  man  was  there  to 
witness.  We  take  it  on  God's  word.  He  alone  being  pres- 
ent, reveals  the  past.  We  do  not  ask  science  or  philosophy 
to  account  for  the  universe.  The  scientist  and  philosopher 
were  not  there. 

We  prefer  to  accept  the  testimony  of  the  infinite  eye-wit- 
ness and  agent  rather  than  the  peurile  fancies  and  contra- 
dictory conjectures  of  finite  absentees. 

ABEL  AND  CAIN  (  1 1  :  4) 

This  is  the  first  recorded  case  of  saving  faith  on  the  one 
hand,  and  of  unbelief  rejecting  the  gospel  on  the  other  hand. 
The  case  is  every  way  notable : 

I.  These  were  probably  twin  brothers — the  first  born  of 
woman. 


£86     COLOSSIANS,  EPHEStANS,  HEBREWS 

2.  The  mother's  hopes  turned  to  Cain,  believing  him  to  be 
the  promised  seed  that  would  bruise  the  serpent's  head. 

3.  The  Lord  dwelt  between  the  Cherubim  as  a  Shekinah, 
or  sword-flame,  on  the  newly  established  throne  of  grace, 
at  the  east  of  the  lost  Paradise  to  keep  open  or  shut,  the  way 
to  the  tree  of  life. 

4.  A  way  of  approach  to  God  had  been  appointed  through 
sacrifices,  both  expiatory  and  non-expiatory,  the  latter  non- 
acceptable  when  not  based  on  the  former. 

5.  From  the  throne  of  grace  two  ways  divided :  The  way 
of  faith,  and  the  way  of  Cain.  In  one  or  the  other  the  whole 
human  race  has  walked. 

6.  The  expiatory  sacrifice  proclaimed  its  oflferer  a  sinner, 
seeking  mercy  through  a  propitiation.  The  non-expiatory 
without  the  other  announced  its  offerer  as  denying  himself 
to  be  a  sinner  in  need  of  atonement,  and  acknowledged  only 
the  necessity  of  a  thank-offering. 

The  record  shows  both  men  coming  before  the  Lord  with 
sacrifices,  and  Jehovah's  accepting  the  one  and  rejecting  the 
other.  Here  we  need  to  read  the  Genesis  history  of  the 
transaction,  and  then  the  New  Testament  interpretation : 

1.  The  text  says  (verse  4)  Abel  had  faith,  i.e.,  he  looked 
to  the  unseen  Antitype  of  his  propitiatory  sacrifice  and 
gave  substance  to  what  he  hoped  for. 

2.  This  sacrifice  was  more  excellent  than  Cain's. 

3.  God's  witness  assured  his  faith.  This  was  an  internal 
witness  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  his  spirit. 

4.  God  bore  witness  by  fire  to  the  excellence  of  his  offer- 
ing, as  in  the  case  of  Gideon  (Judg.  6:21)  and  David 
(I  Chron.  21 :  26),  and  Elijah  (I  Kings  18:  38).  This  was 
an  external  witness. 

5.  By  his  faith,  though  dead,  he  yet  speaketh.  The  excel- 
lence of  this  sacrifice  consisted  in  its  confession  that  he  was 
a  sinner,  approaching  God  in  the  appointed  way  for  propitia- 
tion of  sin,  by  the  blood  of  a  vicarious  sacrifice.     Again 


THE  HEROES  OF  FAITH  287 

this  letter  teaches  that  the  blood  of  our  Lord  sprinkled  on 
the  heavenly  mercy  seat  speaketh  better  things  for  us  than 
the  blood  of  Abel's  typical  lamb  (12:  24). 

The  Apostle  John,  in  commenting  on  the  Genesis  history, 
goes  deeper  into  the  origin  of  the  case :  "Not  as  Cain  was  of 
the  evil  one,  and  slew  his  brother.  And  wherefore  slew  he 
him?  Because  his  works  were  evil  and  his  brother's  right- 
eous." His  context  plainly  attributes  the  difference  in  the 
actions  of  the  two  brothers  to  the  difference  in  the  filial  rela- 
tions, not  to  Adam  and  Eve,  but  to  God  and  the  devil.  Abel 
was  born  of  God,  and  Cain  was  a  child  of  the  devil.  The  one 
following  his  spiritual  origin,  believed,  loved,  obeyed.  The 
other,  following  his  spiritually  devilish  origin,  did  not  be- 
lieve, did  not  obey,  but  hated  and  murdered  his  brother. 
Jude,  the  brother  of  our  Lord,  warned  these  very  hesitating 
Jews  of  the  dispersion  that  denying  the  Lord  is  "going  in 
the  way  of  Cain."  As  has  been  said  before,  from  that  first 
altar  scene,  two  ways  diverge : 

1.  The  way  of  Abel,  followed  by  Seth,  Methuselah,  Noah, 

2.  The  way  of  Cain,  followed  by  the  other  antediluvians, 
who  perished  in  the  flood. 

3.  After  the  flood,  all  the  world-population,  descendants 
of  Noah  according  to  the  flesh,  diverge  according  to  their 
spiritual  descent.  It  was  so  in  Christ's  time,  who  said :  "Ye 
are  of  your  father,  the  devil."  It  is  so  now.  Spiritual  descent 
alone  determines  the  way  we  follow. 

THE  CASE  OF  ENOCH 

This  case  is  remarkable  in  its  bearing  on  the  fifth  promise 
of  the  new  covenant.  From  the  Genesis  history  we  learn  the 
turning  point  in  the  life  of  Enoch.  He  was  sixty-five  years 
old,  and  a  child  had  just  been  born  to  him.  A  revelation 
from  God  caused  him  to  name  the  child  "Methuselah,"  which 
means  that  the  world  would  be  destroyed  when  this  child 
died.    And  indeed  the  flood  came  the  very  year,  and  perhaps 


S88     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

the  very  day,  that  Methuselah  died.  The  revelation  made  a 
profound  impression  on  Enoch's  mind.  He  was  converted, 
and  from  that  time  on  walked  with  God.  Two  cannot  walk 
together  except  they  be  agreed.  Enoch  was  reconciled  to 
God  and  companioned  with  Him  all  the  rest  of  his  life  on 
earth.    His  faith  was  remarkable  in  two  directions  : 

1.  It  went  beyond  the  flood,  beyond  the  first  advent  of  our 
Lord,  even  to  His  final  advent  and  the  very  purposes  of  that 
advent.  The  spirit  of  prophecy  came  on  him,  and  he  spoke 
concerning  the  last  scene  in  the  drama  of  time :  "And  to  these 
also  Enoch,  the  seventh  from  Adam,  prophesied,  saying. 
Behold  the  Lord  came  with  ten  thousand  of  His  holy  ones, 
to  execute  judgment  upon  all,  and  to  convict  all  the  ungodly 
of  all  their  works  of  ungodliness  which  they  have  ungodly 
wrought,  and  for  all  the  hard  things  which  ungodly  sinners 
have  spoken  against  Him,"  Jude  14,  15. 

2.  It  was  yet  more  remarkable  in  its  effect  on  himself. 
Genesis  says,  "Enoch  walked  with  God  three  hundred  years. 
And  he  was  not,  for  God  took  him."  The  text  in  Hebrews 
explains  "By  faith  Enoch  was  translated  that  he  should  not 
see  death,  and  he  was  not  found  because  God  translated  him ; 
for  he  hath  had  witnesses  borne  to  him  that  before  his  trans- 
lation he  had  been  well-pleasing  unto  God,"  Heb.  11:5.  His 
faith  here  evidently  laid  hold  on  the  fifth  promise  of  the 
new  covenant — the  final  advent  of  our  Lord — for  it  is  only 
at  that  advent  that  all  living  Christians  are  glorified  without 
death,  as  explained  by  Paul  elsewhere :  "Behold,  I  tell  you  a 
mystery :  We  all  shall  not  sleep,  but  we  shall  all  be  changed, 
in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last  trump : 
for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised 
incorruptible,  and  we  shall  be  changed.  For  this  corruptible 
must  put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  must  put  on  immor- 
tality. But  when  this  corruptible  shall  have  put  on  incorrup- 
tion, and  this  mortal  shall  have  put  on  immortality,  then  shall 
come  to  pass  the  saying  that  is  written,  Death  is  swallowed 


THE  HEROES  OF  FAITH  289 

up  in  victory.  O,  death,  where  is  thy  victory?  O  death, 
where  is  thy  sting?" 

Here  the  apostle  describes  a  harvest.  But  Enoch  and 
EHjah,  by  mighty  anticipatory  faith,  were  first-fruits.  Look 
at  that  word,  "translated,"  derived  from  the  compound  Latin 
word,  trans — "across"  or  "over,"  and  ferro,  the  irregular 
verb  "to  bear,"  or  "to  carry" — he  was  borne  across,  or  over, 
the  river  of  death.  The  principal  parts  of  this  verb  are 
transferro,  transferre,  transtuli,  translatum. 

As  in  all  the  other  cases,  Enoch  had  witness  borne  to  him 
that  he  was  well-pleasing  to  God — a  double  witness :  First, 
internal  assurance  by  the  Holy  Spirit ;  second,  external  wit- 
ness in  his  translation.  Enoch,  therefore,  was  the  first  man 
who  ever  entered  heaven  in  both  soul  and  body.  An  apoc- 
ryphal book  has  been  attributed  to  him,  which  is  discussed 
in  the  interpretation  of  the  book  of  Jude. 


QUESTIONS 

1.  What  promise  of  the  new  covenant  introduces  chapter  ii  ? 

2.  How  does  chapter  ii  illustrate  the  introduction? 

3.  What  creative  faculty  is  employed  in  the  method  of  using  this 
history  ? 

4.  What  metaphor  concludes  the  argument? 

5.  State  the  several  ideas  and  virtues  of  faith  in  this  discussion. 

6.  Cite  and  expound  the  first  example. 

7.  In  the  case  of  Abel  and  Cain,  what  the  facts  that  make  it 
notable  ? 

8.  What  the  five  points  in  Abel's  case? 

9.  In  what  did  the  excellence  of  his  sacrifice  consist? 

10.  Expound  the  reference  in  12 :  24. 

11.  Cite  John's  reference  to  the  case,  and  show  how  he  goes  to  the 
root  of  the  matter. 

12.  How  does  Jude  use  the  case? 

13.  In  the  case  of  Enoch,  what  and  when  the  turning  point  in 
his  life? 

14.  What  the  result  on  his  life? 

15.  Show  the  two  remarkable  characteristics  of  his  faith? 

16.  In  what  two  ways  was  witness  borne  to  Abel ?    To  Enoch? 


XXVI 

THE  HEROES  OF  FAITH 
(Continued) 

Scripture:  Heb.  1 1 : 6-40 

WE  commence  this  chapter  by  glancing  back  to  the 
witness  borne  to  Enoch,  with  the  broad  affirma- 
tion: "Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  be  well- 
pleasing  unto  God,  for  he  that  cometh  to  God  must  believe 
that  He  is,  and  that  He  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that  seek 
after  Him." 

This  affirmation  not  only  condemns  atheists  who  say  there 
is  no  God,  and  deists,  who,  while  admitting  His  existence, 
deny  His  revelation  in  the  Bible,  and  all  who  deny,  from  any 
cause.  His  providence  and  supernatural  intervention  by 
miracle  and  answer  to  prayer,  but  it  also  condemns  all  hy- 
pocrisy, ritualism,  formalism,  or  other  perfunctory  obedience 
and  worship  on  the  part  of  those  who,  however  orthodox  in 
profession,  yet  in  heart  and  life  deny  Him.  Its  teaching  is 
on  a  line  with  a  previous  exhortation  that  as  our  High  Priest 
is  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  having  been  in 
all  points  tempted  as  we  are:  "Let  us  therefore  draw  near 
with  boldness  unto  the  throne  of  grace,  that  we  may  receive 
mercy,  and  find  grace  to  help  in  every  time  of  need."  That 
is  no  religion  at  all,  whatever  its  guise,  which  does  not  avow 
and  practice  the  doctrine  that  there  is  a  throne  of  grace  and 
mercy,  approachable  directly,  at  any  time  or  anywhere,  by 
any  member  of  the  human  race  in  this  life  and  free  from  the 
unpardonable  sin,  and  that  God  hears  and  answers  prayer 
according  to  a  supernatural,  spiritual  law,  which  is  above 

890 


THE  HEROES  OF  FAITH  ^91 

what  is  called  the  course  of  nature  as  defined  by  human 
science. 

At  the  beginning  of  a  great  meeting  in  Waco  I  preached  a 
series  of  sermons  on  "He  that  cometh  to  God  must  believe 
that  He  is,  and  a  rewarder  of  them  that  seek  Him,"  and 
applied  it  particularly  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  pressing  the  ques- 
tions :  Do  you  believe  there  is  a  personal  Holy  Spirit  ?  Do 
you  believe  He  is  present?  Do  you  believe  He  is  a  prayer 
hearing  God? 

Noah. — "By  faith,  Noah,  being  warned  of  God  concerning 
things  not  seen  as  yet,  moved  with  godly  fear,  prepared  an 
ark  to  the  saving  of  his  house ;  through  which  he  condemned 
the  world,  and  became  the  heir  of  the  righteousness,  which 
is  according  to  faith,"  Heb.  11:7.  The  order  of  events  here 
are: 

1.  God,  by  special  revelation,  warns  Noah  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  world  by  a  flood. 

2.  He  commands  him  to  prepare  an  ark  according  to  a 
given  plan  for  the  preservation  of  his  house  and  such  animals 
as  were  necessary  to  repopulate  the  earth  after  the  subsi- 
dence of  the  flood. 

3.  Noah  believed  God's  revelation  and  obeyed  Him  in 
every  particular. 

4.  The  flood  came  according  to  the  warning,  and  Noah 
and  all  with  him  in  the  ark,  human  and  other  animal  life, 
were  saved  and  did  repopulate  the  earth.  See  Gen.  6:  13; 
9:19;  and  compare  I  Pet.  3:19-21  and  4:6,  and  H  Pet. 
3:1-15,  and  Matt.  24:37-39. 

This  stupendous  achievement  of  faith  is  remarkable  from 
at  least  these  considerations : 

1.  The  event  predicted  was  unseen  and  unforeseeable  by 
human  wisdom. 

2.  It  was  contrary  to  all  antecedent  human  experience,  and 
contrary  to  the  established  order  of  nature. 

3.  It  was  on  a  scale  of  magnitude  to  stagger  credulity. 


^92     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

4.  Its  alleged  reasons  were  on  moral  and  not  natural 
grounds. 

5.  It  called  for  great  and  long-continued  labor  and  great 
expense.  The  ark  approximated  the  Great  Eastern  in  size 
and  tonnage.  The  various  supplies  to  sustain  its  occupants 
for  a  year  added  enormously  to  cost  and  labor. 

6.  The  one  matter  of  isolating  from  their  fellows  and 
assembling  in  the  ark  at  a  particular  date  the  required  pairs 
and  sevens  of  animals  was  wholly  beyond  unaided  human 
power. 

7.  The  jeers  and  scorn  of  an  unbelieving  world  added 
greatly  to  the  difficulty  of  obedience. 

This  book  declares : 

1.  That  in  all  this  course,  Noah  was  led  by  faith. 

2.  That  by  this  faith  he  became  an  heir  of  righteousness. 

3.  That  by  it  he  condemned  the  unbelieving  world. 

4.  That  believing  God,  he  was  moved  by  fear. 

Men  are  influenced  by  motives.  The  hope  of  reward  and 
the  fear  of  punishment  influence  all  men.  In  my  youth  I 
read  the  great  sermon  on  Noah  by  Andrew  Fuller,  of  Eng- 
land. It  brought  out  the  greatness  of  the  faith  of  Noah  as 
did  no  other  sermon  I  ever  read.  It  made  a  profound  and 
lasting  impression  on  my  mind.  This  is  the  Andrew  Fuller 
whose  exposition  of  Genesis  I  commend.  The  case  of  Noah 
was  a  worthy  background  for  the  exhortation  of  this  letter. 

Abraham  and  Sarah. — This  case  is  every  way  worthy  of 
note,  because  Abraham  is  called  "The  father  of  the  faithful," 
and  his  faith  declared  to  be  the  model  faith  for  all  the  future, 
fixing  the  standard  to  which  even  the  faith  of  our  day  must 
conform.  All  of  us  are  required  to  "walk  in  the  steps  of  his 
faith."  A  faith  that  will  not  take  steps,  moving  out  and  for- 
ward— "from  faith  to  faith,"  "from  grace  to  grace,"  "from 
strength  to  strength,"  "from  glory  to  glory,"  is  no  faith  at  all 
in  a  gospel,  saving  sense. 


THE  HEROES  OF  FAITH  ^93 

It  is  not  denied,  but  claimed,  that  the  faith  by  which  we 
are  justified  is  one  definite  act,  at  a  given  moment  of  time. 
But  it  is  also  claimed  that  the  justified  one  shall  live  by  his 
faith.  Justification  is  instantaneous,  but  sanctification  is 
progressive,  and  we  are  sanctified  by  faith  as  well  as  justi- 
fied. So  that  while  it  will  always  be  true  that  one  act  of  faith 
justifies  us  all  at  once  and  once  for  all,  yet  that  faith  does 
not  then  and  there  go  out  of  business,  but  lives,  moves,  steps 
out  unto  every  development  of  sanctification.  There  are  no 
degrees  of  faith  laying  hold  of  justification,  but  it  is  in  the 
realm  of  sanctification  that  faith  is  little  or  great,  swift  or 
slow,  hesitating  or  unstaggering,  commendable  or  censurable. 
It  is  in  this  light  we  examine  the  model  faith  of  Abraham, 
citing  four  distinct  events  in  his  history: 

1.  His  Call  While  in  Ur  of  the  Chaldees. — ^Two  scriptures 
need  to  be  connected  with  this  text :  the  words  of  Stephen 
(Acts  7:2),  and  Gen.  12:1.  The  common  version  correctly 
renders  Gen.  12:  i :  "Now  Jehovah  had  said."  As  there  is 
no  pluperfect  tense  in  the  Hebrew,  we  translate  the  Hebrew 
past  tense  into  the  English  pluperfect  when  the  context 
demands  it.  The  revision  makes  his  call  originate  in  Haran, 
and  nullifies  a  half-dozen  scriptures,  including  the  preceding 
context. 

This  was  a  call  to  a  promised  place,  not  only  yet  unseen, 
but  one  he  would  never  see  in  this  life.  By  faith  he  obeyed 
God,  not  knowing  whither  he  went.  This  first  vision  of  God 
turned  him  from  idolatry  and  put  him  on  a  pilgrimage.  It 
answers  to  that  part  of  our  experience  expressed  by  contri- 
tion and  repentance,  but  has  not  yet  found  peace  in  accept- 
ance of  a  Savior.  So  Bunyan  makes  his  contrite  pilgrim 
leave  the  City  of  Destruction  and  set  out  to  find  a  heavenly 
country,  but  yet  burdened  with  unpardoned  sin  for  a  part 
of  the  way,  until  he  comes  to  the  cross.  So  far  there  is 
indeed  faith,  but  faith  in  a  what  and  not  in  a  whom. 

2.  This  faith  did  not  rest  on  the  land  of  Palestine;  that 


S94     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

would  be  only  swapping  Ur  for  Syria.  He  dwelt  in  tents  in 
that  land,  moving  continually  as  a  sojourner,  not  possessing 
a  foot  of  ground  there  as  a  home,  because  he  looked  for  the 
celestial  city.  So,  in  our  experience  we  are  dissatisfied  with 
this  world  and  long  for  a  heaven  of  rest,  even  before  we  are 
converted. 

3.  But  now  we  come  to  the  great  definite  transaction  of  his 
life — one  famous  star-light  night.  The  circumstances  were 
these :  He  had  just  returned  to  Hebron  from  his  victory  over 
the  five  kings  and  from  his  tithe-paying  to  Melchizedek, 
priest  of  the  most  high  God.  His  mind  was  greatly  troubled 
on  three  points : 

( 1 )  His  maintenance,  seeing  he  had  refused  to  accept  even 
a  shoe  latchet  of  the  spoils  or  compensation  from  the  rescued 
king  of  Sodom. 

(2)  He  was  full  of  the  reaction  of  fear  after  his  triumph. 
He  was  only  a  stranger  in  the  land  with  only  300  men — 
shifting  pasturage  from  time  to  time  by  sufferance  of  the 
Canaanite  nations,  who  might  at  any  time  turn  against  him 
and  spoil  him  of  his  wealth — and  by  his  intermeddling  had 
incurred  the  hostility  of  powerful  kingdoms. 

(3)  He  was  old,  his  wife  was  barren,  and  his  slave  was  his 
heir.  Suddenly  an  unearthly  visitor  enters  his  tent.  And 
here  the  record  (Gen.  15  : 1-6)  introduces  a  number  of  new 
words  and  phrases  occurring  for  the  first  time  in  the  Bible : 

(a)  "The  Word  of  the  Lord,"  or  "The  Logosr  Why 
need  John  go  to  Philo  for  his  Logos,  when  he  could  so  easily 
find  it  in  Gen.  15?  (b)  "Shield,"  (c)  "believe,"  (d)  "im- 
puted for  righteousness."  We  know  this  "Word  of  Jehovah" 
was  a  person,  and  "the  Logos"  for  He  was  visible.  "He 
came  in  a  vision,"  not  in  a  sound,  as  a  common  word  would 
do.  He  was  visible,  audible,  palpable.  "He  brought  Him 
forth."  This  was  a  person.  Abraham  saw  Him,  and  hence 
after  the  Logos  was  incarnate.  He  said,  "Before  Abraham 


THE  HEROES  OF  FAITH  ^95 

was  I  am  *  *  *  Abraham  saw  my  day — ^he  saw  it  and  was 
glad." 

Let  us  note  this  remarkable  interview  between  Abraham 
and  his  Savior :  "Fear  not,  Abraham,  I  am  thy  shield."  In 
other  words,  "be  not  afraid  of  the  enmity  of  the  five  kings  of 
Mesopotamia,  nor  of  the  uprising  of  Canaanite  nations,  nor 
of  Egypt,  nor  of  Philistia.  I,  as  a  shield,  am  between  you 
and  all  foes."  In  Ephesians  we  are  commanded  to  take  with 
us  the  shield  of  faith,  not  faith  as  a  shield,  but  God,  the 
shield,  which  faith  grasps  and  interposes  to  catch  all  the  fiery 
darts  of  Apollyon.  "I  am  thy  reward,"  "Blessing,  I  will 
bless  thee."  God  insured  to  him  basket,  store  and  cattle,  and 
safeguarded  them  from  the  spoiler.  "Thy  servant  shall  not 
be  thine  heir,"  but  potency  shall  come  on  thy  impotency  and 
on  the  barrenness  of  thy  wife.  By  supernatural  power  a  son 
of  promise  shall  be  born  of  thee.  From  him  shall  come  the 
Messiah.  Then  the  Logos  took  him  by  the  hand  and  led  him 
out  of  the  tent  to  look  upon  the  star-spangled  sky  of  an  Ori- 
ental night,  saying  to  him,  "More  than  the  stars  of  heaven, 
more  than  the  sand-grains  on  a  world-circumference  of  ocean 
beach — ^more  than  all  these  shall  be  thy  seed."  Then  Abra- 
ham, looking  not  on  children  of  the  flesh,  but  on  the  countless 
multitude  of  spiritual  children  "saw  Christ's  day — he  saw  it 
and  was  glad."  The  record  says,  "He  believed  on  Jehovah, 
and  it  was  imputed  to  him  for  righteousness."  Then  and 
there  was  Abraham  justified.  He  now  believed  on  a  person 
and  not  a  proposition.  "I  know  whom  I  have  believed," 
says  Paul.  But  this  justifying  faith  that  entered  his  heart 
that  night  once  for  all,  also  becomes  the  living  principle  of 
his  life  "My  justified  one  shall  live  by  faith." 

(4)  So  we  come  to  the  great  trial  of  that  faith  in  his  later 
life — the  one  unique  experience,  unshared  in  some  features 
by  any  other  man.  He  is  commanded  to  take  Isaac,  the  child 
of  promise,  his  only  and  well-beloved  son  by  his  wife,  and 
offer  him  up  as  a  sin-offering.    This  commandment  seemed 


296     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

to  be  squarely  against  the  promise :  "In  Isaac  shall  thy  seed 
be" — "sacrifice  Isaac."  The  great  events  of  the  trial  are 
these: 

1.  His  faith  did  not  stagger  at  the  apparent  clash  between 
command  and  promise,  but  argued :  Both  are  true  and  right 
and  in  harmony.  God  will  fulfill  the  promise  by  raising 
Isaac  from  the  dead. 

2.  Abraham  alone,  of  all  men,  was  made  to  experience,  in 
some  degree,  the  feelings  of  the  Father  in  giving  up  Jesus 
to  die  for  men. 

3.  Isaac  alone,  of  all  men,  was  to  share  somewhat  the 
experience  of  our  Lord  in  submitting  voluntarily  to  a  vica- 
rious death  as  a  sin-ofifering  at  the  hands  of  the  Father. 

Isaac  blessing  Jacob  and  Esau. — It  is  evident  that  Isaac 
personally  preferred  to  bestow  the  blessing  of  primogeniture 
on  Esau,  but  against  nature  and  by  faith  he  bestowed  it  on 
Jacob. 

Jacob  blessing  Ephriam  and  Manasseh. — Joseph  brought 
his  boys  to  Jacob  for  a  blessing,  so  placing  them  that  Jacobus 
right  hand  would  rest  on  Manasseh,  the  elder,  and  so  bestow 
the  greater  blessing.  ,  But  Jacob,  too  dim-eyed  for  earthly 
sight,  yet  seeing  by  faith,  crossed  his  hands  and  put  the 
greater  blessing  on  the  head  of  Ephriam,  the  younger. 

Joseph. — "By  faith  he  gave  commandment  concerning 
his  bones."    The  elements  of  his  faith  were : 

1.  He  believed  the  word  spoken  to  Abraham,  that  his 
people  would  be  enslaved  for  a  long  time  in  Egypt,  though  it 
was  then  against  human  probability. 

2.  He  believed  that  after  a  long  servitude  God  would 
deliver  His  people  and  take  them  to  Canaan,  the  promised 
land,  and  so  commanded  that  his  bones  be  taken  with  them. 

3.  He  believed  in  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  else  why 
be  concerned  about  his  body?  Mere  animals  care  nothing 
for  the  dead  body  of  their  kind.  Birds  care  nothing  for  the 
shells  out  of  which  they  were  hatched,  nor  snakes  for  the 


THE  HEROES  OF  FAITH  29T 

skins  they  shed.    The  reader  should  read  Melville's  great 
sermon  on  "The  Bones  of  Joseph." 

The  Case  of  Moses. — This  case  Is  very  remarkable  on 
many  accounts 

1.  The  faith  of  his  parents,  (a)  Pharaoh's  law  required 
all  male  children  to  be  cast  into  the  Nile  when  born.  Their 
faith  saw  in  the  child  a  great  future,  so  they  hid  him  three 
months. 

(b)  When  hiding  was  no  longer  possible  they  were  not 
afraid  of  the  king's  command,  but  by  a  faith  which  used 
means  they  put  him  in  a  water-proof  vessel,  and  placed  him 
in  the  rushes  in  the  brink  of  the  Nile. 

(c)  They  stationed  his  sister  to  watch  the  outcome,  and 
so  engineered  it  that  his  own  mother  should  nurse  him  for 
Pharaoh's  daughter. 

(d)  In  the  time  they  kept  him,  they  instructed  him  in  the 
revelations  and  promises  of  their  religion  and  so  safeguarded 
him  when  he  entered  the  palace.  So  Lois  and  Eunice  safe- 
guarded Timothy,  in  that  from  a  child  he  was  instructed  in 
the  holy  scriptures.  Thus  all  Christian  parents  should  bring 
up  their  children  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  God. 

2.  The  Faith  of  Moses  Himself. — At  a  great  turning  point 
in  his  life,  his  faith  enabled  him  to  make  a  wise,  decisive 
choice  "And  Moses  was  instructed  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the 
Egyptians ;  and  he  was  mighty  in  his  words  and  works.  But 
when  he  was  well  nigh  forty  years  old,  it  came  into  his  heart 
to  visit  his  brethren,  the  children  of  Israel.  And  seeing  one 
of  them  suffer  wrong,  he  defended  him,  and  avenged  him 
that  was  oppressed,  smiting  the  Egyptian  and  he  supposed 
that  his  brethren  understood  that  God  by  his  hand  was  giv- 
ing them  deliverance,  but  they  understood  not,"  Acts  7 :  22-25. 
"By  faith  Moses,  when  he  was  grown  up,  refused  to  be  called 
the  son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter;  choosing  rather  to  share 
ill-treatment  with  the  people  of  God,  than  to  enjoy  the  pleas- 
ures of  sin  for  a  season ;  accounting  the  reproach  of  Christ 


298     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

greater  riches  than  the  treasures  of  Egypt,  for  he  looked 
unto  the  recompense  of  reward,"  Heb.  1 1 :  24-26.  On  these 
passages  note: 

1.  That  a  revelation  from  God  came  to  Moses.  This  we 
infer  from  "it  coming  into  his  heart  to  visit  his  people,"  and 
from  his  supposition  that  they  would  understand  that  he 
was  their  deliverer.  There  is  no  record  in  his  history  prior 
to  this  time  that  he  was  appointed  deliverer.  Nothing  but  a 
revelation  from  God  can  account  for  the  tremendous  and 
instantaneous  change  in  him, 

2.  It  has  been  said  that  religion  is  only  for  children  and 
weak-minded  women. 

But  here  is  a  mature  man,  the  best  educated  of  his  age, 
"learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians"  a  man  of 
affairs,  mighty  in  words  and  works,  occupying  the  highest 
social  position,  even  a  prince  of  the  greatest  nation  then  on 
earth.  All  pleasures  bidding  for  his  enjoyment  of  them, 
uncounted  riches  at  his  disposal,  who,  not  on  an  impulse,  but 
on  mature  reflection,  carefully  weighing  the  moral  qualities 
of  human  action  and  pushing  his  investigations  to  the  eternal 
outcome,  deliberately  refuses  all  earthly  honor,  pleasures, 
and  treasures,  and  casts  in  his  lot  with  a  generation  of 
despised  slaves. 

Such  unnatural  conduct,  reversing  every  worldly  maxim 
and  motive — indeed  such  a  revolution — calls  for  an  adequate 
explanation.  We  desire  to  know  the  principle  guiding  his 
choice,  and  the  ulterior  motive  prompting  his  action.  The 
text  says,  "by  faith  he  refused"  one  set  of  things ;  "by  faith 
choosing  rather"  the  opposite  set  of  things;  "by  faith  ac- 
counting the  reproach  of  Christ  greater  riches  than  the  treas- 
ures of  Egypt."  Faith,  then,  was  the  principle  by  which  he 
chose.  The  text  then  lays  bare  his  motive,  the  considera- 
tion influencing  his  life,  towit :  "for  he  looked  unto  the  recom- 
pense of  the  reward."  He  had  come  to  the  forks  of  the  road 
of  life.    On  one  way  were  earthly  learning,  pleasures,  treas- 


THE  HEROES  OF  FAITH  299 

ures,  palaces  and  power,  with  a  royal  sepulchre  in  the 
Pyramid  of  Cheops.  On  the  other  was  social  and  literary 
downfall,  ill-treatment,  reproach,  the  desert,  poverty,  weari- 
ness, toil  and  an  unknown  grave  on  which  mortal  eye  would 
never  rest.  But  over  that  flower-bordered  way  was  written : 
"The  way  of  sin,"  and  over  all  its  allurements  was  written 
again :  "Only  for  a  season,"  and  at  the  end  of  the  way  loomed 
up  the  dark  and  eternal  recompense  of  the  reward.  That 
way  was  like  Niagara — ^very  insidious  in  its  ever-increasing 
suction,  and  the  boom  of  fall  just  ahead. 

Over  every  foot  of  the  unpleasant  way  was  written :  "The 
way  of  righteousness  and  the  company  of  the  people  of  God," 
and  over  all  its  horrors  was  also  written :  "Only  for  a  sea- 
son," and  at  the  end  of  the  way  was  the  glorious,  eternal 
recompense  of  the  reward.  Faith,  then,  in  making  this 
choice,  was  the  exercise  of  the  highest  reason.  Other  great 
men,  like  Washington,  Gladstone,  Robert  E.  Lee  and  Stone- 
wall Jackson,  have  exercised  this  highest  expression  of  rea- 
son. Here  was  no  weakness  of  puerility,  no  mere  sentimen- 
tality, no  gullibility,  no  fanatical  superstition.  Moses,  hav- 
ing chosen  the  reproach  of  Christ,  and  cast  in  his  lot  with  the 
people  of  God,  is  now  a  Christian — a  justified  man.  So 
far,  his  faith  appears  as  the  principle  of  choice.     But — 

2.  "By  faith  he  forsook  Egypt,  not  fearing  the  wrath  of 
the  king:  for  he  endured  as  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible." 
This  refers  to  his  flight  into  Midian  and  desert  life  of  prepa- 
ration for  forty  years  more. 

3.  "By  faith  kept  the  passover,"  looking  beyond  the  symbol 
and  memorial  to  "Christ  our  Passover  Lamb  to  be  sacrificed 
for  us." 

4.  "By  faith  he  passed  through  the  Red  Sea  as  by  dry 
land."  So  the  end  of  his  life,  the  faith  which  justified  him 
once  for  all,  lived  and  conquered  over  every  opposing 
obstacle. 

We  may  here  pause  to  inquire,  after  the  lapse  of  thou- 


SOO     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

sands  of  years,  if  the  results,  now  apparent,  justify  the  wis- 
dom of  the  choice  of  Moses. 

Where  now  are  the  pleasures,  and  treasures,  and  glory, 
and  learning  of  ancient  Egypt?  All  forever  gone.  Her 
Pyramids  are  empty,  her  Sphynx  is  dumb,  her  oracles  are 
dead,  the  wood  of  her  palaces  is  wasted,  and  the  stones  have 
crumbled,  and  a  nation  of  degenerate  slaves  crouches  amid 
her  ruins,  or  zvanders  over  her  deserts.  But  look  at  the  monu- 
ments of  Moses.  His  Pentateuch  talks  in  all  languages,  and 
underlies  all  the  legal  codes  of  the  highest  civilisations.  His 
poth  Psalm  echoes  at  all  funerals,  and  his  song  of  deliverance 
at  the  Red  Sea  is  one  of  the  hymns  of  heaven,  Rev.  15:3. 

We  content  ourselves  in  this  discussion  with  the  elabora- 
tion of  the  great  cases  of  Abel,  Enoch,  Noah,  Abraham,  and 
Moses,  covering  the  rest  of  the  examples  cited  with  questions 
that  follow. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  What  does  the  affirmation  in  11 : 6  condemn? 

2.  What  an  essential  characteristic  of  any  religion,  without  which 
it  is  no  religion  at  all  ? 

3.  What  the  order  of  historical  events  in  the  case  of  Noah? 

4.  What  facts  constitute  Noah's  faith  a  stupendous  achievement? 

5.  What  the  resultant  declarations  of  the  text  concerning  Noah? 

6.  Who  preached  one  of  the  world's  greatest  sermons  on  the 
faith  of  Noah,  and  what  other  great  work  did  he  write? 

7.  Why  is  the  case  of  Abraham  specially  noteworthy? 

8.  Distinguish  be.tween  (i)  Some  belief  before  saving  faith, 
(2)  Saving  faith,  (3)  Sanctifying  faith. 

9.  What  four  events  of  Abraham's  life  are  selected  for  illustra- 
tion? 

ID.    Illustrate  Nos.  i  and  2  of  these  events  by  Bunyan's  pilgrim. 

11.  In  what  chapter  of  Genesis  do  we  find  the  account  of  Abra- 
ham's justification,  how  do  you  prove  it,  and  what  the  new  words  in 
that  chapter  ? 

12.  Where  does  John  get  his  Logos  in  the  first  chapter  of  his 
gospel  ? 

13.  State  the  circumstances  of  the  visit  of  the  Logos  to  Abra- 
ham, and  what  three  senses  attested  Kis  presence, 

14.  Is  faith  itself  a  shield?  If  not,  what,  and  what  then  faith's 
relation  to  the  shield? 

15.  What  the  great  trial  of  Abraham's  faith,  and  show  how  com- 
mand and  promises  were  in  apparent  conflict. 

16.  What  the  three  great  events  of  this  trial? 


THE  HEROES  OF  FAITH  SQl 

17.  How  is  it  evident  that  Isaac  blessed  Jacob  with  the  right  of 
primogeniture  by  faith  ? 

18.  How  is  Jacob's  faith  evident  in  blessing  Ephraim  and 
Manasseh. 

19.  What  the  elements  of  Joseph's  faith? 

20.  Who  preached  a  great  sermon  on  Joseph  giving  command- 
ment concerning  his  bones? 

21.  Why  the  difference  between  men  and  brutes  in  caring  for 
the  dead  body? 

22.  State  the  elements  of  the  faith  of  the  parents  of  Moses. 

2Z.  What  the  first  great  element  in  the  faith  of  Moses,  and  what 
the  scriptures  giving  an  account  of  it? 

24.  What  noteworthy  things  in  these  passages? 

25.  What  the  principles  by  which  Moses  made  his  choice,  and 
what  the  consideration  or  motive? 

26.  Show  from  this  case  of  Moses  that  faith  was  highest  reason 
in  rejecting  one  way  and  choosing  the  other. 

27.  Cite  other  great  men  of  history  who  have  found  faith  and 
the  highest  exercise  of  reason. 

28.  How  do  you  prove  that  Moses,  at  this  time,  was  justified? 

29.  What  exploits  of  his  faith  after  justification  are  cited? 

30.  Judging  from  the  viewpoint  of  today,  what  the  evidences  of 
the  wisdom  of  the  choice  of  Moses? 

31.  What  exploits  of  faith  are  cited  from  the  period  of  Joshua? 

32.  Who  preached  a  great  sermon  on  Rahab's  faith,  and  what  his 
text? 

Ans. :    Spurgeon.    Text,  "The  Scarlet  Thread." 

2,Z-    Who  of  the  judges  are  cited  as  heroes  of  faith? 

34.  Consider  the  list  of  achievements  in  11 :  33-38,  and  prove  that 
Samuel  "wrought  righteousness." 

35.  Prove  that  David  "subdued  kingdoms  and  obtained  promises," 
"escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword,"  "waxed  valiant  in  fight,"  "wander- 
ing in  deserts  and  mountains  and  caves  and  holes  of  the  earth." 

36.  In  whose  case  was  "stopped  the  mouths  of  lions  ?" 
Z7.    In  whose  "was  quenched  the  violence  of  fire?" 

38.  What  woman  "received  her  dead  raised  to  life?" 

39.  Recite  the  case  from  the  Maccabees  of  the  martyred  mother 
and  her  children? 

40.  What  noted  prophet  was  "imprisoned?" 

41.  Who  was  "stoned?" 

42.  Who  "sawn  asunder?" 

43.  Who  "went  about  in  sheepskins?" 

44.  On  1 1 :  39,  40  answer :  ( i )  What  is  meant  by  "not  receiving 
the  promises?"  (2)  What  is  meant  by  "some  better  things  concern- 
ing us?"    (3)  When  will  they  and  we  be  made  perfect  together? 


XXVII 

THE  OUTCOME  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  LIFE 

Scripture:  Heb.  12: 18-24 

THE  sixth  great  promise  of  the  new  covenant  is  the  out- 
come of  the  Christian's  Hfe,  12:  18-24.  This  para- 
graph is  the  cHmax,  but  not  the  end  of  the  argument 
of  this  letter.  The  thought  has  been  touched  more  than  once 
already,  but  here  is  gathered  in  a  correlated  group  the  sum 
of  all  detached  antecedent  teachings.  Here  is  not  one  star, 
but  a  constellation  more  luminous  and  alluring  than  the 
Pleiades.  Indeed,  it  is  a  vivid  contrast  between  two  oppos- 
ing constellations — "The  sweet  influences  of  Pleiades"  vs. 
"The  bands  of  Orion,"  for  it  presents  both  negative  and 
positive  aspects,  to  wit :  What  the  Christian  is  not  coming  to, 
and  what  he  is  coming  to. 

Verses  18  to  20  tell  us  that  the  Christian  is  not  coming 
to  Mount  Sinai,  i.e.,  to  the  old  covenant,  ministered  by  angels 
and  mediated  by  Moses,  with  its  terrors  of  voice,  earthquake, 
tempest,  fire,  darkness  and  trumpet,  so  awful  that  even  Moses 
feared  exceedingly  and  trembled — a  mountain  whose  touch 
was  death  and  whose  yoke  gendered  to  bondage  and  death. 
Elsewhere  Paul  has  declared  that  this  mountain,  as  an  alle- 
gory, "answereth  to  Jerusalem  that  now  is;  for  she  is  in 
bondage  with  her  children,"  Gal.  4:21-25.  Indeed,  Gal. 
4:21-31  parallels  our  paragraph  and  demonstrates  Pauline 
authorship  of  this  letter.  At  the  giving  of  the  law,  the 
trumpet  of  heaven  which  marshalled  the  angels,  waxed 
louder  and  louder  until  its  awful  peals  smote  the  people  with 
terror — an  unearthly  trumpet  sound  that  earth  never  heard 

30S 


OUTCOME  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  LIFE      303 

before  and  will  not  hear  again  until  the  final  advent,  when 
again  it  marshals  the  angels  to  attend  our  Lord  for  gather* 
ing  the  elect  and  for  burning  the  tares,  and  not,  according 
to  Negro  theology,  to  wake  the  dead.  (See  Matt.  13:30, 
38-43, 49 ;  Matt.  24 :  31 ;  I  Thess.  4 :  16  for  the  meaning  of  the 
trumpet.)  The  outcome  of  the  old  covenant  is  death,  to 
which  the  Christian  never  comes,  for  "Our  Savior,  Jesus 
Christ,  hath  abolished  death  and  brought  life  and  immortality 
to  light  through  the  gospel,"  and  himself  said,  "I  am  the 
resurrection  and  the  life  *  *  *  Whosoever  liveth  and  be- 
lieveth  in  me  shall  never  die." 

If  we  construe  the  word  "come"  in  "ye  are  not  come"  and 
"ye  are  come,"  in  the  present  or  perfect  tense,  the  meaning 
is :  "Ye  are  not  come  unto  the  old  covenant  as  a  regime,  but 
to  the  new  covenant  as  a  regime."  But  it  is  the  prophetic 
present,  or  perfect,  and  represents  the  outcome  or  destiny. 

THE  PARTICULARS  OF  THE  OUTCOME 

I.  To  a  definite  place.  "But  ye  are  come  unto  Mount  Zion, 
and  unto  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem." 
This  accords  with  the  statements  in  chapter  11 :  10:  "For 
Abraham  looked  for  a  city  which  hath  foundations,  whose 
builder  and  maker  is  God,"  and  11 :  14-16:  "For  they  that 
say  such  things  make  it  manifest  that  they  are  seeking  after 
a  country  of  their  own.  And  if  indeed  they  had  been  mind- 
ful of  that  country  from  which  they  went  out,  they  would 
have  had  opportunity  to  return.  But  now  they  desire  a  better 
country,  that  is,  a  heavenly ;  wherefore  God  is  not  ashamed 
of  them,  to  be  called  their  God,  for  He  hath  prepared  for 
them  a  city."  On  the  same  line  speaks  our  Lord :  "In  my 
Father's  house  are  many  mansions ;  if  it  were  not  so  I  would 
have  told  you ;  for  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you.  And  if  I 
go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  come  again,  and  will  receive 
you  unto  myself;  that  where  I  am  there  ye  may  be  also. 
And  whither  I  go  ye  know  the  way,"  John  14:  2-4.    And  in 


804     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

the  Apocalypse  of  John  we  have  these  precious  words  as  to 
the  conditions  there :  "And  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new 
earth;  for  the  first  heaven  and  the  first  earth  are  passed 
away ;  and  the  sea  is  no  more.  And  I  saw  the  holy  city,  new 
Jerusalem,  coming  down  out  of  heaven  from  God,  made 
ready  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband.  And  I  heard  a 
great  voice  out  of  the  throne  saying,  Behold,  the  tabernacle 
of  God  is  with  men,  and  He  shall  dwell  with  them,  and  they 
shall  be  His  people,  and  God  himself  shall  be  with  them,  and 
be  their  God.  And  He  shall  wipe  away  every  tear  from  their 
eyes ;  and  death  shall  be  no  more ;  neither  shall  there  be 
mourning  nor  crying,  nor  pain  any  more ;  the  first  things  are 
passed  away,"  Rev.  21 :  1-4.  "And  I  saw  no  temple  therein, 
for  the  Lord  God  the  Almighty,  and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple 
thereof.  And  the  city  hath  no  need  of  the  sun,  neither  of  the 
moon,  to  shine  upon  it ;  for  the  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it, 
and  the  lamp  thereof  is  the  Lamb.  And  the  nations  [of  the 
saved]  shall  walk  amidst  the  light  thereof,  and  the  kings  of 
the  earth  bring  their  glory  into  it.  And  the  gates  thereof 
shall  in  no  wise  be  shut  by  day  (for  there  shall  be  no  night 
there)  and  they  shall  bring  the  glory  and  the  honor  of  the 
nations  into  it :  and  there  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  it  any- 
thing unclean,  or  he  that  maketh  an  abomination  and  a  lie ; 
but  only  they  that  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life," 
Rev.  21 :  22-27.  "And  he  showed  me  a  river  of  water  of  life, 
bright  as  crystal,  preceding  out  of  the  throne  of  God  and 
of  the  Lamb,  in  the  midst  of  the  street  thereof.  And  on  this 
side  of  the  river  and  on  that  was  the  tree  of  life,  bearing 
twelve  manner  of  fruits,  yielding  its  fruit  every  month :  and 
the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 
And  there  shall  be  no  curse  any  more,  and  the  throne  of  God 
and  of  the  Lamb  shall  be  therein:  and  His  servants  shall 
serve  Him,  and  they  shall  see  His  face,  and  His  name  shall 
be  on  their  foreheads.  And  there  shall  be  night  no  more; 
and  they  need  no  light  of  lamp,  neither  light  of  sun ;  for  the 


OUTCOME  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  LIFE     305 

Lord  God  shall  give  them  light ;  and  they  shall  reign  forever 
and  ever,"  Rev.  22: 1-5. 

It  was  this  Paradise  regained  that  Paul  was  himself  per- 
mitted to  see :  "I  must  needs  glory,  though  it  is  not  expedient ; 
but  I  will  come  to  visions  and  revelations  of  the  Lord.  I 
know  a  man  in  Christ,  fourteen  years  ago  (whether  in  the 
body  I  know  not :  God  knoweth),  such  a  one  caught  up  even 
to  the  third  heaven.  And  I  know  such  a  man  (whether  in  the 
body,  or  apart  from  the  body,  I  know  not — God  knoweth), 
how  that  he  was  caught  up  into  Paradise,  and  heard  unspeak- 
able words,  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  man  to  utter,"  II  Cor. 
12: 1-4.  And  it  was  concerning  this  place  and  condition  he 
also  said :  "While  we  look  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen : 
for  the  things  which  are  seen  are  temporal,  but  the  things 
which  are  not  seen  are  eternal.  For  we  know  that  if  the 
earthly  house  of  our  tabernacle  be  dissolved,  we  have  a  build- 
ing from  God,  a  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal,  in  the 
heavens,"  II  Cor.  4: 18 — 5 :  i. 

We  need  to  impress  our  minds  with  the  fact  that  all  finite 
beings  must  have  a  place,  whether  in  the  body  or  out  of  the 
body — only  the  infinite  is  omnipresent — and  that  the  clear- 
ness of  our  conception  of  heaven  much  affects  our  life.  Many 
Christians  live  far  from  God  and  are  unhappy,  and  prone  to 
backsliding,  because  their  conception  of  heaven  is  so  vague 
and  misty.  They  do  not  lay  hold  of  the  powers  of  the  world 
to  come.  Dr.  Chalmers,  in  his  greatest  sermon,  on  "The 
Expulsive  Power  of  New  Affections,"  says  substantially: 
"Oh,  if  some  island  of  the  blessed  could  be  loosed  from  its 
heavenly  moorings  and  float  down  the  tide  of  time  so  that 
we  could  just  once  behold  the  serenity  of  its  skies,  the  tran- 
quility of  its  pcace^^if  just  once  we  could  inhale  the  aroma 
of  its  flowers,  catch  the  sheen  of  the  apparel  of  its  inhab- 
itants—just once  have  our  hearts  ravished  with  the  melody 
of  its  musio— tbca  ttcver  again  would  we  oount  this  world 
our  hom€." 


SOB     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

I  once  heard  at  a  great  camp-meeting  a  thousand  happy 
voices  singing  that  old  time  Methodist  hymn: 

"Have  ye  heard,  have  ye  heard,  of  that  sunbright  clime, 
Undimmed  by  sorrow  and  unhurt  by  time; 
Where  age  hath  no  power  o'er  the  fadeless  frame; 
Where  the  eye  is  afire  and  the  heart  is  aflame : 
Have  ye  heard  of  that  sunbright  clime?" 

The  effect  was  electrical  and  the  impression  uneflfaceable. 

I  stood  by  the  bed-side  of  a  once  gifted,  but  nov^r  broken- 
hearted viroman,  from  whose  life  all  earthly  joy  had  been 
cruelly  snatched  away — and  crushed  and  dying,  but  with  face 
illumined,  she  said,  "Old  time  friend  and  schoolmate  of  my 
happy  girlhood,  have  your  people  sing  to  me."  "And  what 
would  you  have  us  sing?"  "Sing  to  me  of  heaven."  And 
so  we  sang, 

"Oh !  sing  to  me  of  heaven 
When  I  am  called  to  die; 
Sing  songs  of  holy  ecstasy 
To  waft  my  soul  on  high." 

Her  face  shone  as  the  face  of  an  angel,  and  in  a  low,  sweet 
voice  she  repeated  the  last  stanza,  and  whispered, 

"Let  music  cheer  me  last  on  earth, 
And  greet  me  first  in  heaven." 

And  so  her  soul  passed  upward  in  a  gentle  sigh. 

We  recall  the  ecstasy  of  martyred  Stephen ;  "But  he,  being 
full  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  looked  up  steadfastly  into  heaven, 
and  saw  the  glory  of  God,  and  Jesus  standing  on  the  right 
hand  of  God,  and  said.  Behold,  I  see  the  heavens  opened, 
and  the  Son  of  man  standing  on  the  right  hand  of  God," 
Acts  7:55,  56. 

THE  COMPANIONSHIP  OF  HEAVEN 

2.  Our  companions  there  forever  are  of  three  classes: 

Angelic,  human  and  divine.    Let  us  consider  them  in  order : 

(i)  "To  an  innumerable  company  of  angels."    All  those 


OUTCOME  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  LIFE     307 

ministering  spirits  who,  since  the  throne  of  grace  was  estab- 
lished, have  served  the  heirs  of  salvation.  Jacob  saw  them 
in  his  dream  at  Bethel,  descending  and  ascending  the  ladder 
which  reached  from  heaven  to  earth,  which  ladder  was  our 
Lord  himself,  John  1:51.  Cherubim  and  seraphim,  which 
constitute  the  chariot  of  God,  and  overlook  the  mercy  seat, 
and  sing,  "Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Lord  God  Almighty."  They 
hover  over  our  assemblies  on  earth,  and  are  instructed  in 
the  manifold  wisdom  of  God  as  the  church  unrolls  and 
reveals  that  wisdom.  They  gather  the  elect  for  glory,  and 
the  wicked  for  destruction. 

(2)  Human  companionship  in  heaven.  The  "heaven"  of 
the  text  must  be  considered  as  the  place  where  the  disem- 
bodied souls  of  the  saints  now  go,  and  in  the  references  to 
the  human  companionship  there  are  five  distinct  ideas : 

(a)  The  first  idea  relates  to  them  individually. 

(b)  The  second  idea  relates  to  their  sanctified  state.  Both 
these  ideas  are  in  the  expression :  "The  spirits  of  just  men 
made  perfect." 

(c)  The  third  idea  relates  to  their  official  character  while 
on  earth,  "first-born" — this  has  been  explained  as  meaning 
that  every  regenerate  man  possesses  the  right  and  office  of 
primogeniture  constituting  him  a  priest  unto  God. 

(d)  The  fourth  idea  relates  to  them  as  having  been  an 
organized  assembly,  or  the  enrollment  of  the  "first-born" 
ones  into  a  church — Greek,  ekklesia.  The  third  and  fourth 
ideas  are  in  the  phrase :  "Church  of  the  first-born  who  are 
enrolled  in  heaven."  This  is  a  back  reference  to  their  church 
life  as  a  business  body  on  earth. 

(e)  The  fifth  idea  relates  to  them  collectively  in  heaven, 
and  is  an  entirely  new  one.  These  churches  of  the  first- 
born ones  on  earth,  enrolled  in  heaven,  are  in  their  disem- 
bodied state,  no  longer  business  bodies,  but  have  become  a 
"general  assembly" — Greek,  panegyris.  Here  the  apostle, 
following  the  idea  of  Greek  civic  or  state  bodies,  each  an 


508     COLOSSIANS,  :ePHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

independent  business  body,  beholds  them  gathered  in  one 
great  assembly,  not  for  business  or  war,  but  for  joyous  fes- 
tivity. Let  not  the  Spartan  ekklesia  "come  with  arms  to  the 
panegyris"  "The  panegyris  and  ekklesia  of  the  first-born 
who  are  enrolled  in  heaven." 

The  author  utterly  repudiates  any  interpretation  of  pane- 
gyris which  makes  it  a  festive  assembly  of  angels.  There  is 
not  an  allusion  in  the  Bible  to  angels  keeping  a  festival,  but 
the  references  are  abundant  to  the  festival  of  the  saints  in 
heaven,  as  will  be  shown  when  we  come  to  the  seventh  great 
promise  of  the  new  covenant. 

These  several  ideas  restated  are  as  follows 

1.  When  we  die  we  go  at  once  to  heaven  and  become  a 
companion  of  every  saint  whose  death  preceded  ours.  We 
will  know  then,  not  in  part,  but  as  we  are  known.  We  will 
recognize  and  enjoy  Abel,  Seth,  Enoch,  Noah,  Abraham, 
Isaac,  Jacob,  Joseph,  Moses,  Joshua,  Samuel,  and  all  the 
prophets,  and  all  the  apostles,  evangelists,  and  martyrs.  We 
will  enjoy  the  companionship  of  Spurgeon,  Bunyan,  and 
every  other  faithful  preacher  or  layman.  We  will,  like 
David,  go  to  our  own  dead  children,  our  sainted  father, 
mother,  brother,  or  sister. 

2.  We  ourselves,  completely  sanctified  in  spirit,  will  join 
the  spirits  of  all  the  justified  now  made  perfect. 

3.  On  earth  we  were  not  only  a  priest  unto  God,  offering 
spiritual  sacrifices,  but — 

4.  Were  enrolled  in  heaven  as  belonging  to  an  organized 
business  body — an  ekklesia. 

5.  There  we  will  be  a  member,  not  of  a  business  body,  but 
gf  a  general  assembly — panegyris — an  assembly,  not  for 
war  as  on  earth,  but  for  a  festival  of  eternal  joy. 

We  now  enjoy  the  companionship  of  every  imperfect  saint 
of  our  acquaintance.  We  now  enjoy  our  church  relations, 
offering  jointly  with  our  brethren  assembled  in  worship, 
spiritual  praises  as  priests  unto  God.    We  now  enjoy  our 


OUTCOME  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  LIFE     30^ 

gatherings  for  co-operation  in  Christian  work  and  warfare, 
whether  in  district  associations,  state  conventions,  national 
conventions,  or  international  assemblies,  for  the  promotion 
of  the  cause  of  our  Redeemer,  but  then  and  there,  when 
earth's  business  is  ended  and  its  warfare  has  ceased,  we 
join  the  general  assembly  of  all  the  saints  who  have  crossed 
the  flood  and  there  are  ready  to  welcome  those  who  follow, 
"till  all  the  ransomed  church  of  God  are  saved  to  sin  no 
more." 

Dr.  Talmage  tore  his  rhetoric  to  tatters  in  a  vain  attempt 
to  describe  the  home-coming  of  the  Federal  army — a  million 
men — at  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  as  they  passed  in  one 
grand  review,  company  by  company,  regiment  by  regiment, 
brigade  by  brigade,  division  by  division,  army  corps  by  army 
corps — infantry,  cavalry,  artillery — drums  beating,  bands 
playing,  cannon  thundering,  flags  floating,  and  cheer  after 
cheer  saluting.  But  how  shall  all  that  compare  with  the 
grand  review  of  the  redeemed,  which  John  saw  in  vision 
from  Patmos?  "After  these  things  I  saw,  and  behold,  a 
great  multitude,  which  no  man  could  number,  out  of  every 
nation  and  of  all  tribes  and  peoples  and  tongues,  standing 
before  the  throne  and  before  the  Lamb,  arrayed  in  white 
robes,  and  palms  in  their  hands ;  and  they  cry  with  a  great 
voice,  saying,  "Salvation  unto  our  God  who  sitteth  on  the 
throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb.  *  *  *  These  are  they  that  come 
out  of  the  great  tribulation,  and  they  washed  their  robes, 
and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Therefore 
are  they  before  the  throne  of  God ;  and  they  serve  Him  day 
and  night  in  His  temple :  and  He  that  sitteth  on  the  throne 
shall  spread  His  tabernacle  over  them.  They  shall  hunger 
no  more,  neither  thrist  any  more  ;  neither  shall  the  sun  strike 
upon  them,  nor  any  heat :  for  the  Lamb  that  is  in  the  midst 
of  the  throne  shall  be  their  shepherd,  and  shall  guide  them 
unto  fountains  of  waters  of  life :  and  God  shall  wipe  away 
every  tear  from  their  eyes,"  Rev.  7 : 9,  10,  14-17. 


310     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

3.  Divine  Companionship. — "Ye  are  come  to  God,  the 
Judge  of  all  *  *  *  to  Jesus,  the  mediator  of  the  new  cove- 
nant." The  desire  of  the  ages  to  see  God  has  been  baffled 
by  the  statement:  "No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time,  or 
can  see  Him."  Job  cried  out :  "O  that  I  knew  where  I  might 
find  Him  and  talk  to  Him  face  to  face  as  with  a  friend!" 
Philip  prayed :  "Lord,  show  us  the  Father  and  it  sufficeth." 
But  it  is  the  promise  of  the  new  covenant  that  we  shall  see 
God.  "Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God." 
The  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect  do  see  Him.  They  come 
to  Him:  "Oh  that  my  words  were  now  written!  Oh  that 
they  were  inscribed  in  a  book !  That  with  an  iron  pen  and 
lead  they  were  graven  in  the  rock  forever !  But  as  for  me, 
I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  at  last  He  will  stand 
up  upon  the  earth;  and  after  my  skin,  even  this  body,  is 
destroyed.  Then  without  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God,  whom  I, 
even  I,  shall  see  on  my  side,  and  mine  eyes  shall  behold,  and 
not  as  a  stranger,"  Job  19:  23-27.  Not  only  so,  but  in  our 
glorified  bodies  we  shall  see  Him :  "And  they  shall  see  His 
face,  and  His  name  shall  be  in  their  foreheads,"  Rev.  22 : 4. 

The  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect  shall  see  Jesus,  the 
mediator  of  the  new  covenant.  We  never  saw  Him  in  the 
flesh — that  "man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief" — 
but  when  we  die  we  shall  see  Him  anointed  with  the  oil  of 
gladness  above  His  fellows.  Then  with  Paul  elsewhere  we 
may  say :  "Whilst  we  are  at  home  in  the  body,  we  are  absent 
from  the  Lord;"  for  us  "to  die  is  gain,  for  when  we  are 
absent  from  the  body  we  are  present  with  the  Lord." 

Not  only  so,  but  when  absent  from  the  body  we  come  "to 
the  blood  of  sprinkling  that  speaketh  better  things  for  us 
than  the  blood  of  Abel."  This  does  not  mean  the  application 
of  the  blood  of  Christ  to  our  hearts — that  is  done  in  regenera- 
tion— ^but  it  means  that  we  come,  when  we  die,  to  the  Holy 
of  Holies  in  heaven  and  see  where  Christ's  blood,  shed  on 
earth  for  expiation,  was  sprinkled  on  the  mercy  seat  in 


OUTCOME  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  LIFE      311 

heaven  for  atonement,  in  the  interval  between  His  death  and 
resurrection. 

We  now  need  to  understand  the  meaning  of  "which 
speaketh  better  things  for  us  than  the  blood  of  Abel,"  i.e., 
the  blood  of  Abel's  typical  lamb,  which  could  not  possibly 
take  away  sin.  Yet  Spurgeon  in  a  great  sermon  on  this  text, 
construes  it  to  mean  Abel's  own  blood  which  Cain  shed, 
according  to  Gen.  4:  lo,  11 :  "And  He  said.  What  hast  thou 
done?  the  voice  of  thy  brother's  blood  crieth  unto  me  from 
the  ground.  And  now  cursed  art  thou  from  the  ground, 
which  hath  opened  its  mouth  to  receive  thy  brother's  blood 
from  thy  hand."  The  great  preacher  draws  a  vivid  picture 
of  the  evicted  soul  of  Abel  rushing  into  heaven  and  crying : 
"Vengeance!  Vengeance,  O  God,  on  my  murderer!"  But 
our  Lord's  blood  cries:  "Father,  forgive  them;  they  know 
not  what  they  do." 

I  wish  I  could  close  my  discussion  here,  but  inexorable 
duty  requires,  at  least,  an  outline  of  the  outcome  of  the 
impenitent  sinner: 

1.  He,  too,  when  he  dies,  comes  to  a  place — "a  place  pre- 
pared for  the  devil  and  his  angels." 

2.  The  conditions  of  that  place  are  foreshown  by  our  Lord 
in  the  parable  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus,  Luke  16:  23-31. 
A  place  of  intolerable  thirst  and  torment,  so  far  from  the 
water  of  Hfe.  Between  this  place  and  the  place  of  the 
righteous  is  a  deep  impassable  gulf,  a  place  of  unanswered 
prayers,  a  place  not  only  unreachable  by  agents  of  mercy  in 
heaven  or  in  earth,  but  a  place  from  which  no  mission  can 
be  sent  to  earth  to  warn  loved  ones  not  to  join  him  there. 

3.  It,  too,  has  its  human  companions — all  liars,  thieves, 
gamblers,  extortioners,  covetous  men,  adulterers,  and 
idolators. 

4.  It  has  its  angelic  companions — the  devil  and  his 
dem.ons,  whom  the  impenitent  in  life  preferred  to  God  and 
holy  angels.    Ah !  "Wide  is  the  place,  and  deep  as  wide,  and 


312     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

ruinous  as  deep,  while  over  head  and  all  around,  wind  wars 
with  wind,  and  storms  unceasing  hurl  the  lightning  bolts 
of  wrath,  and  remorse,  the  undying  worm  forever  gnaws/* 
The  outcome — the  outcome  of  the  path  whose  steps  take 
hold  of  death  and  hell! 


QUESTIONS 

1.  What  the  climax  of  the  argument  in  this  letter? 

2.  State  the  negative  outcome  of  the  Christian's  life. 

3.  Cite  the  particulars,  without  the  scriptures,  of  what  the  Chris- 
tian comes  to. 

4.  Give  scriptures  on  the  place. 

5.  Give  the  scriptures  on  the  conditions  of  the  place. 

6.  Why  do  many  Christians  live  so  unhappily,  so  unprofitably, 
so  prone  to  backsliding? 

7.  Quote  Dr.  Chalmers. 

8.  Quote  the  great  Methodist  hymn. 

9.  Give  the  scriptures  on  the  angelic  companionship. 

10.  What  the  several  ideas  on  the  human  companionship? 

11.  What  the  scriptures  on  coming  to  the  Father  and  seeing  Him? 

12.  On  coming  to  the  Son?  In  the  passage  from  Job  19  on  seeing 
the  Redeemer,  which  version  is  correct,  common  or  revised?  In 
other  words,  does  Job  expect  to  be  "without  his  body"  or  "in  his 
risen  body"  when  he  beholds  his  Redeemer  ? 

13.  Explain  "coming  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling,"  and  do  you  agree 
with  Spurgeon? 

14.  State  the  particulars  of  the  sinner's  outcome,  by  way  of 
contrast. 


XXVIII 

THE  BETTER  FESTIVALS 

Scripture:  All  References 

SO  far  as  the  Letter  to  the  Hebrews  is  concerned,  I  quote 
two  passages  of  scripture — 12 :  10 :  "We  have  an  altar 
whereof  they  have  no  right  to  eat  that  serve  the  taber- 
nacle." The  other  passage  is  just  one  word  of  chapter  12: 
"You  have  come  to  the  general  assembly" — the  Greek  word, 
panegyris,  which  means  a  festive  assembly,  that  is,  an 
assembly  not  for  business,  and  not  for  war,  but  for  joyous 
festivities. 

The  theme  of  this  chapter  is  the  seventh  great  promise  of 
the  new  covenant,  towit :  The  Christian's  festivals  superior 
to  the  old  covenant  festivals.    I  divide  this  into  four  heads : 

First,  the  feasts  of  supports.  The  sacrifices  of  the  altar  that 
went  to  the  support  of  the  Old  Testament  priesthood,  and  it  is 
to  that  that  our  first  passage  quoted  refers :  "We  have  an 
altar  whereof  they  have  no  right  to  eat  that  serve  the  taber- 
nacle." To  show  the  meaning  of  that  first  thought,  we  will 
turn  to  in  our  study  I  Cor.  9:  13,  14,  which  presents  the 
same  thought  exactly :  "Know  ye  not  that  they  that  minister 
about  sacred  things  eat  of  the  things  of  the  temple,  and  they 
that  wait  upon  the  altar  have  their  portion  with  the  altar? 
Even  so  did  the  Lord  ordain  that  they  that  proclaim  the 
gospel  should  live  of  the  gospel."  One  of  the  accusations 
made  by  Jews  against  Christians  was  that  their  covenant 
made  ample  provision  for  their  priesthood — those  who  were 
set  apart  exclusively  to  the  service  of  God.  Now,  it  is 
promised  them  by  this  passage  (I  Cor.  9:  13,  14  and  Heb. 

313 


314     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

13:10)  that  Christianity  has  a  better  provision  for  its 
ministers  than  the  Jews  had  for  their  priesthood — that  it 
comes  by  a  special  ordinance  of  the  Lord  that  they  who 
preach  the  gospel  shall  live  of  the  gospel.  In  the  old  covenant 
the  things  that  were  for  the  Levites  to  eat  were  never 
sin-offerings ;  these  sin-offerings  had  to  be  entirely  consumed. 
They  would  not  eat  of  part  of  that,  but  some  burnt-offerings 
were  not  sin-offerings.  Of  these  they  had  a  part  and  also  of 
meal-offerings,  the  parts  of  the  crop  and  the  parts  of  the 
flock,  and  the  parts  of  the  increase,  the  tithing;  that  por- 
tion was  made  for  the  support  of  the  Levites  and  the  priests. 
It  is  the  object  of  the  apostle  to  claim  that  Christianity 
makes  a  better  provision,  not  based  upon  an  ad  valorem  tax, 
nor  a  certain  amount  of  specified  increase,  nor  a  certain 
portion  of  each  burnt-offering,  nor  a  sin-offering;  nor  a 
certain  portion  of  the  thank-offering,  nor  of  a  meal-offering ; 
but  a  general  ordinance  of  Jehovah  that  one  whose  life  was 
consecrated  to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  must  live  of  the 
gospel.    That  is  the  first  thought. 

The  second  thought  is  the  family,  or  memorial  feast  of 
the  passover.  In  the  book  of  Exodus  we  have  an  account  of 
the  establishment  of  the  passover,  and  of  the  feasts  of 
unleavened  bread,  and  of  the  lamb,  and  of  bitter  herbs.  In 
the  Letter  to  the  Corinthians,  Paul  discusses  these  feasts 
and  what  the  Christian  has  to  take  the  place  of  them,  using 
this  language :  "Purge  out  the  old  leaven  that  ye  may  be  a 
new  lump,  even  as  ye  are  unleavened.  For  our  passover 
also  hath  been  sacrificed,  even  Christ :  wherefore  let  us  keep 
the  feast,  not  with  the  old  leaven,  neither  with  the  leaven  of 
malice  and  wickedness,  but  with  the  unleavened  bread  of 
sincerity  and  truth.  I  wrote  unto  you  in  my  epistle  to  have 
no  company  with  fornicators,  not  at  all  meaning  with  the 
fornicators  of  this  world,  or  with  the  covetous  or  extor- 
tioners, or  with  idolators,  for  then  must  ye  needs  go  out 
of  the  world.    But  as  it  is,  I  wrote  unto  you  not  to  keep 


THE  BETTER  FESTIVALS  315 

company,  if  any  man  that  is  named  a  brother  be  a  forni- 
cator, or  covetous,  or  an  idolator,  or  a  reviler,  or  a  drunk- 
ard, or  an  extortioner;  with  such  a  one  no,  not  to  eat." 
I  Cor.  5:7-12.  That  is  the  first  exclusion  in  the  institution 
of  the  Lord's  Supper — an  exclusion  of  church  members 
whose  lives  are  at  war  with  their  profession.  We  are  to  come 
to  that  feast  in  sincerity  and  in  truth,  each  one  examining 
himself  as  to  his  faith  in  Christ;  and  we  are  to  partake  of 
that  feast  shut  off,  not  from  outside  evil-doers,  for  they  are 
not  in  it  at  all,  but  from  such  as  are  members  of  the  church 
who  are  extortioners,  liars,  thieves,  idolators;  from  men 
whose  lives  are  outrageous  in  sin — with  such  do  not  eat. 

Whereas  the  Jew  kept  that  feast  as  a  family,  our  family 
is  the  church.  They  kept  the  feast,  each  family  apart — the 
Christians  keep  this  feast  as  a  church  family,  every  church 
having  jurisdiction  that  can  exclude  from  participation  in 
that  feast  all  unworthy.  Thus  they  celebrate  that  memorial 
feast  of  our  Lord.  That  is  the  first  exclusion,  that  is,  exclu- 
sion from  the  inside.  I  now  show  that  outsiders  cannot  par- 
take of  this  feast,  and  I  give  a  passage  from  I  Cor.  10: 15 : 
"I  speak  as  to  wise  men ;  judge  ye  what  I  say.  The  cup  of 
blessing  w^hich  we  bless,  is  it  not  a  communion  (or  participa- 
tion) of  the  blood  of  Christ?  And  the  bread  which  we 
break,  is  it  not  a  communion  (or  participation)  of  the  body 
of  Christ  ?  Seeing  that  we  who  are  many,  and  are  one  bread, 
one  body,  for  we  all  partake  of  the  one  bread.  Behold, 
Israel  after  the  flesh:  have  not  they  that  eat  the  sacrifices 
communion  with  the  altar?  What  say  I  then  that  things 
sacrificed  to  idols  is  anything,  or  that  an  idol  is  anything; 
but  I  say  that  the  things  that  the  Gentiles  sacrifice,  they 
sacrifice  to  demons,  and  not  to  God;  and  I  would  not  that 
ye  have  communion  with  demons.  Ye  cannot  drink  the  cup 
of  the  Lord,  and  the  cup  of  demons ;  ye  cannot  partake  of 
the  table  of  the  Lord  and  of  the  table  of  demons." 

You  see  in  that  part  in  the  Christian  festival  there  is  no 


316     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

open  communion  with  false  worship.  It  is  a  close  com- 
munion document.  Here  is  the  table:  it  is  the  Lord's,  not 
mine.  If  it  were  mine  I  could  put  it  out  under  a  tree  in  the 
yard,  or  in  the  cellar,  or  in  the  field,  or  in  the  house.  If  it 
were  mine  I  could  invite  anybody  to  eat  with  me  that  I 
pleased,  but  it  is  the  Lord's  table,  and  the  cup  is  the  cup  of 
the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  must  say  who  shall  partake  of  this 
feast. 

In  such  a  place  as  Corinth,  where  there  were  inter-mar- 
riages, it  was  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  for  a  woman, 
who  was  a  Christian,  to  be  approached  by  her  husband,  who 
was  an  idolator,  who  might  say,  "Let  us  partake  together; 
you  come  and  eat  my  feast  with  me  and  I  will  eat  your  feast 
with  you."  Here  comes  the  injunction — it  is  not  a  participa- 
tion of  husband  and  wife — it  is  a  participation  in  the  blood 
and  body  of  Christ,  and  we  cannot  take  the  cup  of  the  Lord 
and  the  cup  of  the  demons,  for  idolators  do  worship  demons 
— their  oracles  are  demon  oracles.  So  that  is  the  second 
thought  of  the  Christian  festival.    We  now  come  to  the — 

Third  thought :  the  love  feasts.  From  the  Old  Testament, 
just  after  the  covenant  on  Sinai  was  ratified,  we  have  this 
record:  "Then  went  up  Moses  and  Aaron,  Nadab,  Abihu, 
and  seventy  of  the  elders  of  Israel,  and  they  saw  the  God 
of  Israel ;  and  there  was  under  His  feet  as  it  were  a  paved 
work  of  sapphire  stone,  and  as  it  were  the  very  heavens  for 
clearness,  and  upon  the  nobles  of  the  children  of  Israel  He 
laid  not  His  hand,  and  they  beheld  God  and  did  eat  and 
drink"  (Ex.  24:9-11). 

That  feast  of  joy  was  celebrated  after  the  ratification  of 
their  covenant.  In  Jude  12  he  refers  to  Christian  "love 
feasts"  this  way  (he  is  talking  about  those  that  deny  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  that  go  in  the  way  of  Balaam  for 
hire,  or  in  the  way  of  Korah  by  gainsaying)  :  "These  are 
they  who  are  hidden  rocks  in  your  love  feasts  when  they  feast 
with  you,   shepherds  that  without   fear   feed  themselves; 


THE  BETTER  FESTIVALS  317 

clouds  without  water  carried  along  by  winds ;  autumn  trees 
without  fruit,  twice  dead,  plucked  up  by  the  roots;  wild 
waves  of  the  sea,  foaming  out  their  own  shame ;  wandering 
stars  for  whom  the  blackness  of  darkness  hath  been  reserved 
forever." 

There  is  a  feast  after  the  ratification  of  the  new  covenant. 
It  is  called  a  love  feast.  In  Acts  2  this  love  feast  is  used  in 
contra-distinction  from  the  Lord's  Supper.  I  will  first  take 
the  passage  about  the  Lord's  Supper :  "And  they  were  con- 
stant in  their  attendance  on  the  public  teachings  of  the 
apostles,  and  in  contribution,  in  the  breaking  of  bread,  and 
in  prayers."  Breaking  of  the  bread  there  refers  to  the  ordi- 
nance of  the  Lord's  Supper.  "And  all  that  believed  were 
come  together  and  had  all  things  common ;  and  they  sold  their 
possessions  and  goods,  and  parted  them  to  all,  according  as 
any  man  had  need.  And  day  by  day,  continuing  steadfastly 
with  one  accord  in  the  temple,  and  breaking  bread  at  home, 
they  took  their  food  with  gladness  and  singleness  of  heart, 
praising  God,  and  having  favor  with  all  the  people." 

Out  of  that  passage  in  Acts,  and  the  one  in  Jude,  grew  up 
after  apostolic  days  "love  feasts"  of  a  somewhat  different 
order.  They  would  have  that  feast  at  the  time  they  had  the 
Lord's  Supper,  making  a  common  meal  of  it,  and  would 
sometimes  extend  the  feasting  unto  excess,  as  I  have  known 
Negroes  to  do.  I  saw  a  Negro  love  feast  once.  Their  com- 
munion-wine was  a  jug  of  whisky,  and  their  unleavened 
bread  was  stacks  of  pies  arranged  along  the  side  of  the  wall, 
and  they  would  drink  the  whisky  and  eat  those  pies,  and  join 
hands  and  have  a  regular  hallelujah  dance.  Church  history 
tells  much  about  these  love  feasts.  The  Methodists  have 
founded  spiritual  love  feasts.  They  do  not  give  bread  to 
eat,  or  wine  to  drink,  but  have  a  soul-feast. 

The  point  that  I  am  making  is  that  in  the  joy  that  came 
to  the  old-covenant  people  after  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice 
had  been  sprinkled,  and  the  covenant  had  been  ratified,  the 


318     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

representatives  went  up  into  the  mountain  in  the  presence 
of  God  and  had  their  feast  in  His  presence.  So  the  Chris- 
tians, after  the  ratification  of  their  covenant,  came  to  the 
outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and 
had  their  feasts  and  their  spiritual  communion. 

I  come  now  to  the  fourth  thought.  In  the  Old  Testament 
there  were  general  or  national  feasts — not  family  feasts,  like 
the  Passover,  but  the  feast  of  the  tabernacles  and  the  feast 
of  Pentecost.  Once  every  year  they  would  come  up  and  live 
in  tents,  and  Jerusalem  would  have  millions  of  people  in  it 
from  every  part  of  the  world.  The  Jews  would  come  up  in 
general  assembly.  It  was  an  exceedingly  joyous  time  with 
them  with  all  the  dispersion  coming  from  the  ends  of  the 
earth.  What  is  there  in  the  Christian  covenant  superior  to 
that?  It  is  expressed  in  Hebrews  12  in  that  word,  panegyris 
— a  general  festive  assembly.  Paul  strictly  follows  the  Greek 
custom  in  the  use  of  words.  Each  particular  Greek  State 
was  an  independent  civic  government,  an  ekklesia,  but  every 
four  years  say,  the  entire  Greek  nation  would  come  together 
in  a  general  assembly — a  panegyris — that  was  the  name  of 
it.  They  did  not  come  together  to  make  war  on  each  other : 
"Let  not  the  Lacedamonians  come  up  to  the  panegyris  with 
arms  in  their  hands."  They  had  feasts  and  games  and  great 
joy.  The  apostle  seizes  upon  that  refinement  of  Greek 
thought  to  show  that  as  each  church  here  on  earth  has  its 
Lord's  Supper,  so  there  will  be  a  general  assembly  of  all 
the  people  of  God — not  for  the  transaction  of  business,  for 
business  is  done ;  not  for  war,  for  war  is  over — but  they 
come  together  in  heaven  in  a  great  festive  assembly. 

I  give  some  of  the  passages  that  bear  out  this  idea.  There 
must  be  something  more  than  a  reference  to  the  Lord's 
Supper  in  Luke  22 :  28-30 :  "But  ye  are  they  that  have  con- 
tinued with  me  in  my  temptations ;  and  I  appoint  unto  you 
a  kingdom,  even  as  my  Father  appointed  unto  me,  that  ye 
may  eat  and  drink  at  my  table  in  my  kingdom ;  and  ye  shall 


THE  BETTER  FESTIVALS  319 

sit  on  thrones  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel."  In 
Matthew  8 :  1 1  Jesus  says,  "Many  shall  come  from  the  East 
and  the  West,  the  North  and  the  South,  and  shall  recline  at 
the  table  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  in  the  kingdom  of 
God."  That  panegyris  seems  to  be  in  his  mind.  In  Luke  i6 
we  have  a  picture  of  a  single  person  coming  up  from  death 
and  joining  that  panegyris:  "And  it  came  to  pass  that  this 
beggar  [Lazarus,  starved  to  death  on  earth,  hungering  for 
even  the  crumbs  that  fell  from  the  rich  man's  table]  died, 
and  he  was  carried  away  by  angels  into  Abraham's  bosom." 
The  thought  is  based  on  the  posture  of  reclining  at  a  feast 
that  as  at  the  Lord's  Supper,  John  leans  his  head  against 
the  bosom  of  the  Lord,  so  that  poor  starved-out  man  on  eart*h, 
as  soon  as  he  dies,  goes  to  the  great  heavenly  festival  and 
rests  his  head  upon  the  bosom  of  Abraham,  while  that  rich 
man,  who  fared  sumptuously  every  day  here  on  earth,  as 
soon  as  he  died,  woke  up  in  hell,  burning  with  consuming 
thirst  and  hunger.  But  Lazarus  goes  to  the  panegyris — the 
general  assembly.  Let  us  consider  one  more  passage  on  it. 
In  Matt.  26,  where  our  Lord  has  just  instituted  the  Lord's 
Supper  and  is  holding  the  cup  in  His  hands  after  they  had 
participated  in  it.  He  says,  "I  shall  drink  no  more  of  this 
fruit  of  the  vine  until  I  drink  it  new  [not  as  it  is  now]  in 
the  kingdom  of  God."  That  is  a  clear  reference  to  the  same 
thought.  In  other  words,  the  idea  of  heaven  is  :  Warfare  is 
ended,  privation  is  ended,  and  the  widely  scattered  people 
of  God  are  brought  into  a  general  assembly.  Of  course  this 
imagery  here  is  spiritual ;  it  refers  to  the  joys  of  redemption 
of  God's  people — not  isolated  and  imperfect — but  assembled 
and  glorified. 

Let  us  now  restate  briefly  these  four  thoughts  of  the 
festival.  The  first  thought  is  that  while  the  Jew  had  an 
appointed  provision  for  his  priests  and  Levites  of  which  a 
Christian  could  not  partake,  so  our  Lord  made  provision  for 
His   ministers   that  no  Jewish  priest  could   share,   towit: 


320     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

"They  that  preach  the  gospel  shall  live  by  the  gospel." 
Second,  that  as  the  Jew  had  his  love  feasts,  so  the  Christian 
has  his  agapae,  for  social  and  religious  enjoyment.  Third, 
that  as  the  Jew  had  his  passover  family- feast,  the  Christian 
has  his  Lord's  Supper,  or  church- feast.  Fourth,  that  as  the 
Jew  had  his  national  festivals  every  year  when  all  Jews 
came  together,  the  Christian  will  have  his  panegyris,  when 
all  Christians  of  the  universe  shall  come  together  in  one 
great  festive  assembly. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  What  the  seventh  great  promise  of  the  new  covenant? 

2.  Under  what  four  heads  is  this  treated? 

3.  What  two  passages  are  cited  from  Hebrews  bearing  on  this 
matter  ? 

4.  Contrast,  under  the  first  head,  the  provision  of  the  old  cove- 
nant for  the  support  of  its  priests,  with  the  provision  of  the  new 
covenant  for  the  support  of  its  preachers. 

5.  Under  the  second  head  what  feast  has  the  new  covenant 
analogous  to  the  Jewish  Passover  ? 

6.  The  Jewish  Passover  was  a  family  feast.  What  is  the  Lord's 
Supper  ? 

7.  In  respect  to  how  many  classes  is  the  Lord's  Supper  exclusive? 

8.  Show  what  members  of  the  church,  even,  are  to  be  refused 
participation  ? 

9.  What  scripture  bears  on  its  exclusiveness  of  outside  religions? 

10.  What  would  you  argue  from  its  being  "The  Lord's  table — 
the  cup  of  the  Lord" — as  bearing  on  invitations  to  participation  in  its 
observance? 

11.  Under  the  third  head  what  love,  or  joy-feast,  was  held  after 
the  ratification  of  the  old  covenant? 

12.  What  single  passage  names  the  new  covenant  "love-feasts?" 

13.  What  the  character  of  Methodist  "love-feasts?" 

14.  Under  the  fourth  head  what  N.  T.  passages  are  cited  bearing 
on  the  heavenly  feast? 

15.  What  one  Greek  word  in  Hebrews  names  it? 

16.  Distinguish  between  the  particular  Greek  assemblies  called 
ekklesias  and  their  general  festive  assembly  called  panegyris. 


XXIX 

EXHORTATIONS  AND  SPECIAL  PASSAGES 

Scripture:  All  References 

ALL  New  Testament  exhortation  is  based  on  antecedent 
statement  of  doctrine.  In  Hebrews  the  whole  letter 
is  a  succession  of  doctrines  and  exhortations — first 
a  doctrine,  then  its  application.  In  some  respects,  then,  is 
it  a  model  in  homiletics. 

1.  It  shows  the  relation  between  dogma  and  morals.  There 
can  be  no  morals  apart  from  dogma.  To  leave  out  dogma 
undermines  morality. 

2.  Dogma,  as  a  mere  theory,  is  valueless.  Its  power  lies 
in  its  application  to  practical  life,  governing  thought,  emo- 
tion, imagination,  words,  and  deeds,  in  all  of  life's  relations 
to  God,  home,  country,  and  the  universe. 

The  present-day  ministry  has  deteriorated  in  the  power  of 
exhortation  based  on  vivid  conceptions  of  great  and  definitive 
doctrines  concerning  God,  law,  sin,  salvation,  heaven  and 
hell.  The  first  exhortation  in  this  letter  is  an  exhortation  to 
earnest  attention:  "Therefore,  we  ought  to  give  the  more 
earnest  heed  to  the  things  that  were  heard,  lest  haply  we  drift 
away  from  them.  For  if  the  word  spoken  through  angels 
proved  steadfast,  and  every  transgression  and  disobedience 
received  a  just  recompense  of  reward,  how  shall  we  escape 
if  we  neglect  so  great  a  salvation,  which  having  at  the  first 
been  spoken  through  the  Lord,  was  confirmed  unto  us  by 
them  that  heard?"  Heb.  2:  1-3.  The  doctrinal  basis  of  this 
exhortation  is  all  the  first  chapter,  setting  forth  our  Lord's 
threefold  Sonship,  by  eternal  subsistence,  by  His  incarnation, 


322     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

by  His  resurrection,  and  His  threefold  superiority  over  the 
universe,  over  the  angels,  and  over  the  prophets.  The  pre- 
cise tendency  against  which  this  exhortation  warns  is  to 
"drift  away"  from  great  truths.  Any  steady  lateral  pres- 
sure which  insidiously  swerves  a  floating  object  from  a 
given  direction,  and  causes  drifting,  as  a  prevalent  wind,  an 
ocean-current  or  undertow,  rapids  in  a  river  leading  to  a 
fall  or  the  suction  of  a  whirlpool.  Inherited  depravity,  the 
course  of  this  world,  the  temptations  of  Satan,  the  increas- 
ing power  of  evil  habits  until  they  become  second  nature — 
in  a  word,  the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil  constitute  the 
drifting  power,  or  trend  away  from  salvation.  The  danger 
of  neglecting  this  exhortation  is  that  we  are  carried  away 
unwittingly  until  there  is  no  escape  forever.  The  great 
majority  of  life's  irreparable  disasters  are  brought  about 
by  "drifting  away"  through  "heedlessness"  and  "neglect." 

The  element  of  the  greatness  in  this  salvation  is  deliver- 
ance of  the  entire  man,  soul  and  body,  forever,  from  the 
guilt,  defilement,  love  and  dominion  of  sin,  into  an  eternal 
and  most  blessed  state  of  reconciliation  and  companionship 
with  God.  The  historical  argument  against  any  hope  of 
escape  if  this  salvation  be  neglected  is  that  from  Sinai  to 
Christ's  advent  every  word  of  the  law  disposed  by  angels 
proved  steadfast,  and  every  transgression  was  justly  pun- 
ished. The  historical  instances  of  this  penalty  of  the  law 
and  of  the  prophets  are  numerous.  The  applied  logic  of  this 
history  is  as  follows : 

By  so  much  as  Christ  is  greater  than  angels  or  prophets ; 
by  so  much  as  His  revelation  is  more  complete  and  the 
light  of  His  gospel  brighter ;  by  so  much  as  it  is  better 
accredited ;  by  so  much  as  it  is  final  where  theirs  was  transi- 
tional and  educational — by  that  much  is  its  penalty  surer  and 
severer. 

The  second  exhortation,  found  in  3 :  8,  is  against  "harden- 
ing the  heart."    There  is  a  relation  between  "drifting"  and 


EXHORTATION,  SPECIAL  PASSAGES      3^3 

"hardening."  "Drifting"  precedes  and  tends  toward  "hard- 
ening," which  is  a  more  dangerous  state.  By  "hardening" 
is  meant  a  blunting  of  the  moral  perceptions,  a  growing 
callousness  to  spiritual  sensations,  tending  to  the  condition 
of  "past  feeling."  According  to  the  context  "an  evil  heart 
of  unbelief"  operating  through  the  "deceitfulness  of  sin" 
causes  hardening.  This  deceitfulness  consists  in  miscon- 
struing the  grace  of  delay  in  punishment  as  immunity  alto- 
gether, as  saith  the  prophet:  "Because  sentence  against  an 
evil  deed  is  not  speedily  executed,  the  heart  of  the  sinner  is 
fully  set  in  him  to  do  evil." 

The  third  exhortation  is  found  in  4 :  1 1  thus  :  "Let  us  labor 
therefore  to  enter  into  that  rest."  The  doctrinal  basis  of 
this  exhortation  is  that  as  God  rested  from  creation,  com- 
memorating it  by  a  Sabbath  day,  so  Jesus  rested  after  the 
greater  work  of  redemption,  commemorating  it  by  appoint- 
ing a  new  day  for  Sabbath-keeping. 

The  fourth  exhortation,  found  in  4:  14,  is  this:  "To  hold 
fast  to  our  confession."  The  doctrinal  basis  is  the  fact  that 
Jesus,  our  High  Priest,  has  entered  into  the  heavenly  Holy 
of  Holies  to  make  atonement  and  intercession  for  us. 

The  fifth  exhortation,  4 :  16,  is  to  come  boldly  to  the  throne 
of  grace  for  mercy  and  help  in  every  time  of  need.  The 
doctrinal  basis  of  this  exhortation  is  the  fact  that  our  High 
Priest  is  touched  with  a  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  having 
been  in  all  points  tempted  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin. 

The  occasion  for  the  sixth  exhortation  is  that  they  were 
in  a  state  of  arrested  development,  remaining  "babes  in 
Christ"  when  they  ought  to  have  been  teachers,  and  so  not 
only  unprepared  to  receive  the  higher  grades  of  Christian 
knowledge,  but  they  were  unable  to  discern  between  good 
and  evil  because  their  spiritual  senses  had  not  been  exercised ; 
hence  they  were  continually  tempted  to  try  to  rub  out  and 
make  a  new  start  from  the  very  beginning  (See  5 :  11-14). 
This  reminds  us  of  the  three  classes  into  which  our  Lord 


324f     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

divided  His  flock :  ( i )  Lambs,  Greek :  arnia,  i.e.,  new  con- 
verts; (2)  Sheep,  Greek:  probata,  i.e.,  mature  Christians; 
(3)  Little  sheep,  Greek  (best  manuscript)  :  "prohatia"  i.e., 
Christians  stunted  in  growth  (See  John  21 :  15-19).  These 
Hebrews  were  "little  sheep." 

The  phrase,  "by  reason  of  use,"  is  illustrated  by  the  senses, 
or  faculties,  or  muscles  which  increase  in  power  by  use,  or 
go  into  bankruptcy  by  disuse.  Certain  Chinese  families, 
training  the  sense  of  touch  for  generations,  can  tell  colors 
of  cloth  fabrics  in  the  dark  by  feeling.  It  is  said  also  that 
certain  Japanese  dentists,  by  long  training  of  the  muscles 
of  thumb  and  forefinger,  extract  teeth,  using  the  hand  alone 
as  forceps.  Again,  the  prophet,  referring  to  the  second 
nature  of  long  continued  evil  habits,  says,  "As  the  Ethiopian 
cannot  change  his  skin  nor  a  leopard  his  spots,  so  one  accus- 
tomed to  do  evil  cannot  learn  to  do  well." 

This  sixth  exhortation  is  to  leave  the  first  principles,  not 
attempting  the  relaying  of  foundations,  but  go  on  to  maturity, 
6: 1.  The  first  principles  of  Christian  oracles  are  the  foun- 
dation of  repentance  and  faith,  the  teaching  of  baptisms,  the 
laying  on  of  hands,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  and  eternal 
judgment,  6 : 2. 

Repentance  and  faith  are  called  a  foundation  because 
without  them  one  can  neither  be  a  Christian  nor  be  saved. 
Therefore  the  folly  of  attempting  to  relay  this  founda- 
tion, since  it  is  never  laid  but  once,  which  Paul  hypothet- 
ically  states  thus:  "For  as  touching  those  who  were  once 
enlightened  and  tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift,  and  were  made 
partakers  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  tasted  the  good  word  of 
God,  and  the  powers  of  the  age  to  come,  and  then  fell  away, 
it  is  impossible  to  renew  them  again  unto  repentance," 
Heb.  6:4-6. 

This   passage   has    several    interpretations,    as    follows: 

I.  John  Bunyan  held  that  the  "enlightening,"  "tasting," 
and  "partaking"  of  this  passage  refer  to  illumination  and 


EXHORTATION,  SPECIAL  PASSAGES      325 

conviction  by  the  Holy  Spirit  which  did  not  eventuate  in 
regeneration.  This  view  the  author  rejects  because  the 
passage  also  supposes  genuine  repentance  as  well  as  "illu- 
mination" and  "conviction,"  else  why  say  it  is  impossible  to 
renew  them  again  unto  repentance  f  Moreover,  he  discon- 
nects the  force  of  "being  made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Spirit** 
and  "tasting  of  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come." 

2.  Dr.  Wilkes,  a  Methodist  preacher,  as  the  author  heard 
him  say,  held  that  the  passage  certainly  taught  two  things : 
(a)  A  genuine  Christian  may  lose  regeneration;  and  (b) 
if  he  does  he  can  never  be  converted  again. 

3.  The  author  holds  that  "the  enlightening,"  "tasting" 
and  "partaking"  are  equivalent  to  regeneration,  and  that 
the  passage  does  teach  that  if  regeneration  were  once  lost 
it  could  never  be  regained,  because,  having  exhausted  the 
benefits  of  Christ's  crucifixion  in  the  direction  of  regenera- 
tion, another  regeneration  would  call  for  another  crucifixion, 
but  Christ,  as  a  sin-offering,  dies  but  once — He  is  offered 
once  for  all.  So  the  passage  teaches  "Seeing  they  crucify 
to  themselves  the  Son  of  God  afresh  and  put  Him  to  an 
open  shame."  It  would  be  an  open  shame  to  Christ  if  a 
beneficiary  of  His  salvation  should  lose  it  and  thus  vitiate 
the  certainty  of  the  Father's  promise  to  Him  and  covenant 
with  Him.  But  that  the  statement  is  hypothetic  appears 
from  the  apostle's  added  words:  "But,  beloved,  we  are 
persuaded  better  things  of  you,  and  things  that  accompany 
salvation,  though  we  thus  speak ;"  "But  we  are  not  of  them 
that  shrink  back  unto  perdition ;  but  of  them  that  have  faith 
unto  the  saving  of  the  soul."  The  object  of  the  exhortation 
is  to  influence  the  Christian  to  move  on  and  not  spend  a  life- 
time at  the  foundation,  for  in  any  event  this  is  folly. 

To  illustrate :  Being  present,  as  a  visitor,  at  a  Methodist 
meeting,  I  was  invited  to  talk  to  some  of  the  mourners.  I 
approached  a  man  who  seemed  to  be  weeping  in  great  dis- 
tress, and  asked  what  was  his  trouble.    His  reply  was,  sub- 


326     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

stantially :  "I  have  been  converted  several  times,  but  I  always 
lose  it."  I  assured  him  he  was  mistaken  on  one  or  the  other 
of  two  points — either  he  was  never  genuinely  converted,  or 
he  had  never  lost  it — both  could  not  be  true.  He  replied: 
"I  knozv  I  was  converted,  and  I  know  I  lost  it."  Then  said 
I :  "Why  are  you  wasting  time  here ;  why  shedding  fruit- 
less tears?  H  you  are  right  on  both  points,  then  you  are 
forever  lost.  You  have  exhausted  the  plan  of  salvation. 
Your  only  chance  is  for  Christ  to  come  and  die  again  and 
send  the  Holy  Spirit  again,  of  w^hich  there  is  no  promise, 
and  even  in  that  case  there  is  no  certainty  for  you  unless  He 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  should  do  more  efficient  work  next  time. 
I  don't  desire  to  shake  your  positive,  infallible  knowledge 
that  you  have  been  regenerated  and  that  you  have  lost  it, 
but  merely  point  out  that  in  such  case  you  are  forever  lost, 
just  as  certainly  as  if  you  were  in  hell  now.  Here,  look  at 
Heb.  6 : 4-6,  and  see  that  I  can  do  you  no  good,  and  so  will 
pass  on  to  cases  not  hopeless."  "Don't  leave  me,"  he  said, 
"maybe  I  am  mistaken  on  one  of  those  points." 

"Baptism"  here  is  in  the  plural  and  there  is  a  reference 
here,  (i)  To  baptism  in  water  (Matt.  28:19);  (2)  To 
baptism  in  fire,  or  eternal  punishment  (Matt.  3:10-12); 
(3)  To  baptism  in  the  Holy  Spirit  (Acts  1:5);  (4)  To 
baptism  in  suffering  (Mark  10:  39). 

"The  teaching  of  laying  on  of  hands"  refers :  (i)  To  con- 
ferring of  miraculous  power  by  the  laying  on  of  hands  of 
the  apostles  (Acts  8:  17;  19:6)  which,  accrediting  of  the 
apostles,  passed  away  with  the  apostles ;  (2)  To  the  abiding 
requirement  of  laying  on  of  hands  in  the  ordination  (a)  for 
deacons  (Acts  6:6),  (b)  For  evangelists  (Acts  13 :3 ;  I  Tim. 
4: 14),  and  (c)  For  other  preachers  (I  Tim.  5  :  22). 

From  a  peculiar  interpretation  of  Heb.  6:  i,  2  there  arose 
a  sect  known  as  the  "Six-Principle  Baptists"  who  practiced 
laying  hands  on  those  who  were  baptized  as  an  essential  part 
of  the  form  of  the  ordinance. 


EXHORTATION,  SPECIAL  PASSAGES      327 


QUESTIONS 

1.  What  the  New  Testament  method  of  exhortation? 

2.  What  the  method  in  Hebrews? 

3.  In  what  respects,  then,  is  it  a  model  in  homiletics? 

4.  Wherein  has  the  present-day  ministry  deteriorated? 

5.  What  the  first  exhortation  in  this  letter,  and  what  its  doc- 
trinal basis? 

6.  What  the  precise  tendency  against  which  this  exhortation 
warns  ? 

7.  What  the  causes  of  drifting? 

8.  What,  in  plain  terms,  constitute  the  drifting  power,  or  trend 
away  from  salvation? 

9.  What  the  danger  of  neglecting  this  exhortation? 

10.  What  is  your  estimate  of  the  relative  proportion  of  life's 
irreparable  disasters  brought  about  by  "drifting  away"  through 
"heedlessness"  and  "neglect?" 

u.     What  the  elements  of  greatness  in  this  salvation? 

12.  What  the  historical  argument  against  any  hope  of  escape  if 
we  neglect  this  salvation  ? 

13.  Cite  historical  instances  of  this  penalty  (i)  of  the  law  and  (2) 
of  the  prophets. 

14.  What  the  applied  logic  of  this  history? 

15.  Against  what  is  the  exhortation  in  3:8? 

16.  What  the  relation  between  "drifting"  and  "hardening?" 

17.  What  do  you  understand  by  "hardening?" 

18.  What  do  we  find  in  the  context  as  a  cause  of  "hardening?" 

19.  In  what  does  deceitfulness  consist? 

20.  What  the  exhortation  relative  to  rest,  and  what  its  doctrinal 
basis  ? 

21.  What  the  exhortation  relative  to  confession,  and  what  its 
doctrinal  basis? 

22.  What  the  exhortation  relative  to  our  need,  and  what  the  doc- 
trinal basis? 

22).    What  the  occasion  of  the  exhortation  relative  to  perfection? 

24.  Into  what  three  classes  did  our  Lord  divide  His  flock,  and  of 
which  class  were  these  Hebrews? 

25.  Expound  the  phrase,  "by  reason  of  use." 

26.  What,  then,  the  exhortation  relative  to  perfection? 

27.  What  the  first  principles  of  Christian  oracles? 

28.  Why  are  repentance  and  faith  called  a  foundation? 

29.  What  the  folly  of  trying  to  relay  this  foundation,  and  what 
the  doctrine  involved? 

30.  How  does  Paul  hypothetically  state  this? 

31.  What  the  several  interpretations  of  this  passage? 

32.  Give  an  incident  of  the  use  of  this  passage  by  the  author. 
ZZ'    What  is  the  meaning  of  "baptisms"  used  in  this  passage? 

34.  What  the  meaning  of  "laying  on  of  hands?" 

35.  What  sect  of  Baptists  arose  from  a  peculiar  interpretation  of 
Heb.  6:1,  2,  and  what  their  construction  of  "laying  on  of  hands?" 


XXX 

EXHORTATIONS  AND  SPECIAL  PASSAGES 
(Concluded) 

Scripture:  All  References 

THE  seventh  exhortation  in  this  book  is  as  follows: 
"Let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart  in  fulness  of 
faith — let  us  hold  fast  the  confession  of  our  hope 
that  it  waver  not — let  us  consider  one  another  to  provoke 
unto  love  and  good  works,  not  forsaking  our  own  assembling 
together,  exhorting  one  another,"  lo:  22-25.  The  doctrines 
that  underlie  this  manifold  exhortation  are,  (i)  Christ  has 
rent  the  veil  hiding  the  holy  of  holies  by  His  death,  and 
dedicated  for  us  a  new  and  living  way.  (2)  We  have  a 
great  High  Priest  over  the  house  of  God.  (3)  The  day  of 
His  final  coming  is  rapidly  approaching,  Heb.  10:  19-21. 

Here  a  question  arises.  Does  "having  our  bodies  washed 
with  pure  water"  (10:22)  refer  to  water  baptism,  and  if 
so,  what  the  bearing  of  the  teaching?  It  is  not  clear  that  it 
has  such  reference.  But  if  it  does,  it  strongly  supports  the 
Baptist  teaching,  towit :  Our  souls  are  cleansed  by  the  appli- 
cation of  Christ's  blood  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  regeneration. 
Baptism  in  water  only  washes  the  body,  and  hence  can  only 
externally  symbolize  the  internal  cleansing.  In  this  way 
Paul,  internally  cleansed,  could  arise  and  wash  away  his 
sins  symbolically  in  baptism  (Acts  22: 16),  or  as  Peter  puts 
it:  "Water,  even  baptism,  after  a  true  likeness  doth  now 
save  us,  not  putting  away  the  filth  of  the  flesh  (i.e.,  the  carnal 
nature),  but  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience  toward  God, 
through  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,"  I  Pet.  3:21.    In 

S28 


EXHORTATION,  SPECIAL  PASSAGES      329 

other  words,  it  is  a  figurative  salvation,  and  the  figure  or 
likeness  is  that  of  a  resurrection  (See  Romans  6:4,  5). 

Paul's  reason  for  the  seventh  exhortation  is  expressed  in 
the  famous  passage,  10:26-29,  the  whole  of  which  is  an 
explanation  of  the  eternal,  unpardonable  sin  against  the 
Holy  Spirit,  very  different  from  the  gradual,  unconscious 
sins  of  "drifting"  and  "hardening."  Its  conditions  and 
characteristics  are : 

1.  There  has  been  great  spiritual  light  and  knowledge, 
thoroughly  convincing  the  judgment  of  the  truth  of  the 
gospel,  and  strongly  impressing  the  mind  to  accept  it. 

2.  It  is  a  distinct  and  wilful  rejection  of  the  well  known 
light  and  monition  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

3.  It  is  a  culmination  of  sin  against  every  person  of  the 
Trinity,  (a)  It  is  a  sin  against  the  Father  in  deliberately 
trampling  under  foot  the  Son  of  His  love,  (b)  It  is  a  sin 
against  the  Son  in  counting  the  blood  of  His  expiation  an 
unho)y  thing,  (c)  It  is  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
doing  despite  to  His  grace  who  has  furnished  complete  proof 
to  the  rejector's  conscience  that  it  is  God's  Son  who  is 
trampled  under  foot,  and  that  the  blood  of  His  vicarious 
sacrifice  alone  can  save. 

4.  Once  committed,  the  soul  is  there  and  then  forever  lost, 
having  never  forgiveness  in  time  or  eternity,  and  knows  that 
for  him  there  is  no  more  sacrifice  for  sin,  and  expects 
nothing  but  judgment  and  fiery  wrath  which  shall  devour 
the  adversaries. 

5.  Let  the  reader  particularly  note  that  this  sin  cannot  be 
committed  except  in  an  atmosphere,  not  merely  of  light  and 
knowledge,  but  of  spiritual  light,  knowledge  and  power,  and 
that  it  is  one  wilful,  malicious  act,  arising  from  hate — hating 
the  more  because  of  the  abundance  and  power  of  the  light. 

The  eighth  exhortation  is,  "Cast  not  away  your  boldness," 
10 :  35.  The  exhortation  is  based  on  appeal  to  their  remem- 
brance of  the  triumphs  of  their  past  experience.    They  had 


330     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

patiently  endured  a  great  conflict  of  sufferings  just  after 
their  conversion;  they  had  been  made  a  gazing-stock  both 
by  reproaches  and  afflictions  cast  on  them,  and  by  their  shar- 
ing in  the  afflictions  of  their  leaders.  This  is  evident  from 
the  history  of  Paul's  labors  among  them.  There  was 
nothing  in  their  present  afflictions  severer  than  those  they 
triumphantly  endured  in  their  earlier  experience. 

The  ninth  exhortation  is,  "Therefore,  let  us  also,  seeing 
that  we  are  compassed  about  by  so  great  a  cloud  of  wit- 
nesses, lay  aside  every  weight,  and  the  sin  which  doth  so 
easily  beset  us,  and  let  us  run  with  patience  the  race  that 
is  set  before  us,  looking  unto  Jesus,  the  author  and  per- 
fecter  of  our  faith,  who  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him 
endured  the  cross,  despising  shame,  and  hath  sat  down  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God.  For  consider  him  that 
hath  endured  such  gainsaying  of  sinners  against  himself, 
that  ye  wax  not  weary,  fainting  in  your  souls,"  Heb.  12 :  1-3. 
The  imagery  here  is  that  of  a  foot-race,  such  as  these  people 
had  often  witnessed  in  the  Isthmian  Games  at  Cornith,  or 
in  the  great  amphitheatre  at  Ephesus.  "The  race  set  before 
us" — the  great  example  upon  whom  the  runner  must  fix  his 
eye — is  Jesus,  the  author  (or  captain)  and  perfecter  of  our 
faith. 
The  force  of  the  example  of  Jesus  in  12:  2  is  this: 
He  is  set  before  us  as  the  one  perfect  model  or  standard. 
A  joy  was  set  before  Him  as  a  recompense  of  reward  that 
when  attained  would  make  Him  the  gladdest  man  in  the 
universe.  For  this  He  voluntarily  became  the  saddest  man 
in  the  universe.  Thus  "the  Man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted 
with  grief"  was  "anointed  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above 
His  fellows;"  "He  saw  of  the  travail  of  His  soul  and  was 
satisfied."  Here  we  are  confronted  with  this  double  ques- 
tion :  Does  the  phrase,  "author  and  perfecter  of  our  faith," 
mean  that  Jesus  first  inspires  and  then  completes  our  individ- 
ual faith — i.e.,  what  He  begins  He  consummates — or  that 


EXHORTATION,  SPECIAL  PASSAGES      331 

He  is  the  Captain  and  completer  of  the  faith  in  the  sense 
that  His  completed  victory  is  both  cause  and  earnest  of  our 
own  victory,  as  in  2:  lo?  The  latter  best  accords  with  the 
import  of  the  Greek  word,  archegos,  used  both  here  and  in 
2:10,  and  with  the  whole  context. 

The  word,  '"witnesses,"  in  12:  i  means  "martyrs'*  whose 
examples  should  excite  our  emulation,  and  accords  with  the 
meaning  and  usage  of  the  Greek  word  marturos,  which 
makes  them  witnesses  to  the  truth  and  not  spectators  of 
what  other  people  may  do.  Moreover,  the  Biblical  evidence 
is  scant,  if  there  be  any  at  all,  that  departed  souls  are  allowed 
to  sympathetically  intervene  in  the  struggles  of  those  left 
behind.  Yet,  by  rhetorical  license,  in  the  exercise  of  the 
imagination,  a  poet,  orator,  or  writer,  may  summon  the  dead 
to  appear  before  the  living  for  dramatic  effect.  But  we  go 
far  when  we  seek  to  construct  doctrine  on  rhetorical  license. 
What  is  the  "besetting  sin"  in  12:  i?  It  may  not  be  the 
same  in  all  cases.  It  is  the  sin  to  which  one  most  easily 
yields,  whether  pride,  lust,  covetousness,  anger,  vanity,  or 
any  other. 

The  tenth  exhortation,  12:4-13,  is,  "Regard  not  lightly  the 
chastening  of  the  Lord,"  because  (i)  chastening  is  an  evi- 
dence of  sonship.  (2)  If  we  have  borne  arbitrary  chastening 
from  earthly  parents,  much  more  we  will  bear  disciplinary 
chastening  from  our  heavenly  Father.  (3)  While  grievous 
at  first,  it  yieldeth  afterward  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness, 
if  rightly  received. 

Here  come  up  the  Creationist  theory  of  the  origin  of 
human  spirits  and  the  Traducian  theory.  The  Creationist 
theory  is  that  the  spirit  of  every  human  being  born  into 
the  world  is  a  direct  creation  of  God,  and  only  the  body 
is  derived  from  the  earthly  parent.  The  Traducian  theory 
is  that  every  child,  in  his  entirety,  spirit  and  body,  is  de- 
rived from  his  earthly  parents,  begotten  in  the  likeness  not 
only  of  bodily  features,  but  in  spiritual  state,  otherwise  man 


332     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

could  not  propagate  his  species,  and  every  child  would,  in 
his  inner  nature,  be  born  holy,  not  subject  to  inherited  de- 
pravity and  not  needing  regeneration  until  he  became  an 
actual  transgressor,  hence  needing  only  proper  environment 
and  training  to  grow  up  in  holiness. 

The  passage  in  question  is  not  decisive  for  either  theory. 
God  is  the  Father  of  spirits  in  that  originally  the  spirit  of 
man  was  not  a  formation  from  inert  matter,  but  a  special 
creation  (See  Gen.  2:7).  Thus  the  whole  race,  body  and 
spirit,  was  potentially  in  the  first  man,  died  body  and  spirit 
in  him  when  he  fell,  and  after  his  fall  he  "begat  children 
in  his  likeness"  body  and  spirit. 

In  12:12,  13,  "hands  hanging  down,"  "palsied  knees," 
and  "crooked  paths"  refer  to  the  physical  effects  of  spiritual 
depression  or  terror,  the  inner  man  acting  on  the  outer.  See 
case  of  Belshazzar  (Dan.  5:6),  and  recall  cases  coming 
under  your  own  observation  in  which  discouragements  or 
despondency  of  the  spirit  enfeeble  the  body.  Some  men, 
morally  brave,  are  physically  timid.  A  famous  French  mar- 
shall  always  trembled  at  the  beginning  of  battle.  On  one 
occasion  his  officers  rallied  him  on  his  shaking  legs.  He 
answered,  "If  my  legs  only  knew  into  what  dangers  I  will 
take  them  today,  they  would  shake  more  than  they  do." 

The  eleventh  exhortation,  12 :  i4ff,  is,  "Follow  after  peace 
with  all  men,  and  the  sanctification  without  which  no  man 
shall  see  the  Lord."  There  are  two  hazards  attending  obe- 
dience to  this  exhortation,  against  which  there  are  specia/ 
cautions,  as  follows:  (i)  The  springing  up  of  a  root  of 
bitterness  to  defile  many.  (2)  The  spirit  of  profanity,  or 
the  despising  of  sacred  things. 

In  our  own  experience  or  observation,  cases  arise  of  a 
single  root  of  bitterness  disturbing  the  peace  of  communi- 
ties and  retarding  the  sanctification  of  hundreds. 

Profanity  here  means,  not  so  much  swearing  as  it  does  a 
Spirit  of  irreverence  in  speaking  of  sacred  things,  and  some- 


EXHORTATION,  SPECIAL  PASSAGES     333 

times  interested  lost  souls  are  completely  side-tracked  by 
the  levity  and  foolish  jestings,  and  the  questionable  anec- 
dotes of  preachers  in  their  hours  of  relaxation. 

The  author  having  often,  in  his  early  ministry,  witnessed 
the  wounding  and  shocking  of  sober-minded  Christians  and 
the  loss  of  interest  in  awakened  sinners  caused  by  the  foolish 
jestings  in  the  preacher's  tent  concerning  sacred  things,  and 
sometimes  by  obscene  anecdotes,  entered  into  a  solemn  cove- 
nant with  Dr.  Riddle,  the  moderator  of  the  Waco  Associa- 
tion, never  to  tell  nor  willingly  hear  a  doubtful  anecdote. 
This  covenant  was  made  while  camping  out  one  night  on 
the  prairie  in  the  light  of  the  stars. 

The  twelfth  exhortation  and  its  doctrinal  basis  are  found 
in  12 :  28,  29 :  "Wherefore,  receiving  a  kingdom  that  cannot 
be  shaken,  let  us  have  grace,  whereby  we  may  offer  service 
well-pleasing  to  God  with  reverence  and  awe :  for  our  God 
is  a  consuming  fire. 

I  will  group  in  classes  the  exhortations  of  chapter  13  as 
follows : 

1 .  Love  to  brethren,  strangers,  and  those  in  bonds. 

2.  Honor  the  sanctity  of  marriage. 

3.  Eschew  the  covetous  spirit. 

4.  Hold  in  kind  remembrance  your  leaders  that  have 
passed  away. 

5.  Bear  the  reproach  of  Christ,  even  if  it  ostracises  from 
worldly  cities. 

6.  Offer  spiritual  sacrifices  of  praise,  confession,  contri- 
bution and  prayer. 

In  closing  this  exposition  there  are  two  things  worthy  of 
note:  First,  The  bearing  of  13:8  on  the  preceding  verse, 
which  means  that  preachers  may  come  and  go,  but  Jesus 
is  ever  the  same.  Second,  The  controversy  arose  over  13 :  10 
— a  controversy  as  to  what  is  the  Christian  altar.  Was  it 
the  cross  on  which  Jesus  was  crucified  ?  Then  how  can  the 
altar  be  greater  than  the  gift  on  the  altar,  as  Christ  taught  ? 


334     COLOSSIANS,  EPHESIANS,  HEBREWS 

Was  it  Christ's  divinity  on  which  His  humanity  was  sacri- 
ficed? This  controversy  was  a  refinement  of  foolishness, 
because  the  altar  under  consideration  is  not  supporting  the 
expiating  sin-offering  of  which  the  priests  were  never  allowed 
to  have  a  part,  but  the  altar  to  which  non-expiatory  offer- 
ings were  brought,  such  as  meat  offerings,  thank-offerings, 
tithes,  etc.  Of  these  the  priests  and  Levites  might  partake. 
The  meaning  is  simply  this — that  Christianity  provides  in 
its  way  for  the  support  of  its  laborers  through  the  voluntary 
offerings  to  Christ's  cause  (See  I  Cor.  9:  13,  14). 

QUESTIONS 

1.  What  the  exhortation  in  this  book  relative  to  faith,  hope  and 
love? 

2.  What  doctrines  underlie  this  manifold  exhortation? 

3.  Does  "having  our  bodies  washed  with  pure  water"   (10:22) 
refer  to  water-baptism,  and  if  so,  what  the  bearing  of  the  teaching? 

4.  How  do  you  interpret  Paul's  reason  for  this  exhortation  as 
expressed  in  10 :  26-29,  which  refers  to  the  eternal  sin  ? 

5.  What  the  exhortation  relative  to  boldness,  and  on  what  is  it 
predicated  ? 

6.  What  the  exhortation  relative  to  weights,  sins,  etc.,  what  its 
imagery,  and  what  its  elements? 

7.  What  the  force  of  the  example  of  Jesus  in  12:2?^ 

8.  What  does  the  phrase,  "author  and  per  f  ecter  of  our  faith,"  mean  ? 

9.  What  the  meaning  and  import  of  "witnesses"  in  12:  i? 

10.  What  the  "besetting  sin"  in  12:1? 

11.  What  the  exhortation  relative  to  chastening,  and  what  its 
reasons? 

12.  What  the  theories  relative  to  the  origin  of  human  spirits,  and 
what  the  bearing  of  this  passage  on  the  subject? 

^  13.    What  the  meaning  and  force  of  "hands  hanging  down,"  "pal- 
sied knees"  and  "crooked  paths?" 

14.  What  the  exhortation  relative  to  peace  and  sanctification  ? 

15.  What  two  hazards  attending  obedience  to  this  exhortation? 

16.  Do  you  know  of  a  case  of  a  single  "root  of  bitterness"  disturb- 
ing communities  and  hindering  sanctification? 

17.  What  the  meaning  of  profanity  here,  and  what  illustration  of 
the  effect  of  such  profanity  given? 

18.  In  what  did  Esau's  profanity  consist? 

19.  What  the  meaning  of  12:  17? 

20.  What  the  exhortation  relative  to  grace,  and  what  its  doctrinal 
basis? 

21.  Group  in  classes  the  exhortations  of  chapter  13. 

22.  What  the  bearing  of  13 :  8  on  the  preceding  verse? 

23.  What  controversy  arose  over  13:  10? 

24.  Why  was  this  controversy  a  refinement  of  foolishness? 


Date  Due 

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